Ten U.S. cities made the Top 25 worst congested cities in the world as employees return to the office.Nine out of 10 of the United States’ largest metros saw trips increase into the city core, capped by a sharp +25% increase in trips to Downtown Houston, followed by Chicago (+13%), Dallas (+12%) and Atlanta (+10%).Saturday and Sunday evenings saw the largest increase in trips, at 9% year-over-year, while Friday saw the biggest day of week growth when considering all-day trips.Congestion resulted in American drivers losing an average of 43 hours to traffic jams in 2024, equal to about one work week, costing $771 in lost time and productivity. Drivers in the most congested cities, New York and Chicago (102 hours), lost more than $1,800 in wasted time.
KIRKLAND, Wash., Jan. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, INRIX, Inc., a global leader in transportation data and analytics, released the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard that identified and ranked congestion and commuting trends in nearly 1,000 cities, across 37 countries. Istanbul’s 105 hours lost to congestion topped the worldwide rankings, followed closely by New York City (102 hours) and Chicago (102 hours). Ten U.S. cities made the Top 25 worst congested cities in the world as more employees returned to the office and leisure activity on nights and weekends increased.
Ten U.S. cities made the Top 25 world’s worst congested cities as more employees and consumers returned downtown
“Every year since 2020, we’ve seen traffic gradually rise towards what it was pre-pandemic,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX and author of the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard. “While the U.S. is still behind pre-2020 levels of traffic, a pullback of remote and hybrid work models, specifically in tech-heavy areas like San Jose, San Francisco, and Seattle, brought a large jump in downtown trips, which is a good sign for metropolitan economies. The data also shows more economic activity Saturday and Sunday evenings as the downtown core returns to life.”
The higher number of daily commuters heading downtown can bring economic benefits, but it’s a double-edged sword. Pishue continued, “Traffic can be an indicator of economic boon, but ironically, it’s a hamper on economies in of itself. Each minute spent waiting in traffic results in money and productivity lost.”
Americans Waste One Week a Year Sitting in Congestion
New York City, Chicago (both with 102 hours) and Los Angeles (88 hours) are the most congested cities in in the United States, costing drivers $1,826 and $1,575 respectively. The country’s biggest increase in traffic congestion came from 15th-ranked Denver, where residents saw a 19% increase in traffic delay compared to 2023.
Overall, congestion resulted in drivers losing an average of 43 hours to traffic jams in 2024, equal to about one work week, costing $771 in lost time and productivity. Nationwide, this sums to more than four billion hours lost, costing $74 billion in lost time.
Table 1: 10 Most Congested Urban Areas in the U.S.
2024 US
Rank
(2023
Rank)
Urban Area
2024
Hours
Lost
(2023)
Percent
Change
2024
Cost per
Driver
2024
Cost
per
City
Downtown
Speed
(mph)
1 (1)
New York City, NY
102 (101)
1 %
$1,826
$9.5 B
13
2 (2)
Chicago, IL
102 (96)
6 %
$1,826
$6.6 B
14
3 (3)
Los Angeles, CA
88 (89)
-1 %
$1,575
$8.5 B
22
4 (4)
Boston, MA
79 (88)
-10 %
$1,414
$2.7 B
13
5 (6)
Philadelphia, PA
77 (69)
12 %
$1,378
$3.3 B
14
6 (5)
Miami, FL
74 (70)
6 %
$1,325
$3.4 B
20
7 (8)
Houston, TX
66 (62)
6 %
$1,181
$3.5 B
17
8 (9)
Atlanta, GA
65 (61)
7 %
$1,164
$2.9 B
18
9 (7)
Washington, DC
62 (63)
-2 %
$1,110
$2.8 B
12
10 (10)
Seattle, WA
63 (58)
9 %
$1,128
$1.8 B
18
Downtown’s Revival
Nine out of 10 of the United States’ largest metros saw trips increase into the city core, capped by a sharp +25% increase in trips to Downtown Houston, followed by Chicago (+13%), Dallas (+12%) and Atlanta (+10%). INRIX analysis has pinpointed that the increase in downtown trips across the country is not only due to a return to in-person work as Saturdays and Sundays saw the largest year-over-year increases in nighttime trips to downtown (12.5% and 12.7%, respectively). These findings suggest the same improvements cities made to attract employees downtown are also responsible for driving increased leisure/entertainment activity and a return to nightlife.
The Most Congested Corridors in the U.S.
Delay on the country’s busiest roads continues to be one of the most volatile traffic metrics. After holding three spots in the top 10 in 2023, Stamford, Connecticut’s infamous I-95 is now number one in the country’s most congested roads, seeing an influx of traffic from both commuters and freight truck drivers across the tri-state area. Roads in New York and California hold 12 of the 25 spots in INRIX’s most congested U.S. corridors rankings.
Table 2: 10 Most Congested U.S. Roads in 2024
Rank
Urban Area
Road Name
From
To
Peak
Hour
2024 Peak
Minutes
Lost
2024
Hours
Lost
1
Stamford, CT
I-95 SB
Westport
Indian Field Road
8:00 AM
38
151
2
Boston, MA
I-93 SB
Charles River
Pilgrim’s
Highway
3:00 PM
27
109
3
Dallas, TX
US-80 EB
I-635
Forney, TX
5:00 PM
22
88
4
New York City, NY
I-278 BQE WB
I-495 I’Chnge
Tillary Street
4:00 PM
21
85
5
Chicago, IL
I-55 SB
I-90
S Cicero Ave
4:00 PM
20
79
6
Chicago, IL
I-90 EB
Cicero Ave
W Fullerton Ave
8:00 AM
20
79
7
Chicago, IL
I-90 EB
Cicero Ave
Ohio Street
8:00 AM
19
76
8
New York City, NY
Cross Bronx Expy SB
Bruckner Expy
Walter Gladwin
Park
4:00 PM
17
67
9
Chicago, IL
I-290 EB
S Wolf Road
Harlem Ave
5:00 PM
13
66
10
Chicago, IL
I-90 WB
W Ontario Street
W Irving Park
Rd
4:00 PM
13
64
International Cities Grew at Faster Rate
While most large U.S. metros saw an increase in traffic delay in 2024, many areas outside of the United States grew at an even higher rate. Four cities in the Global Top 10 alone saw double-digit increases in traffic delay compared to 2023. For comparison, only five cities in this year’s U.S. Top 25 saw double-digit increases, with zero coming in the top 10. Additionally, 3 out of 4 cities in the 2024 Global Top 25 that saw year-over-year decreases in traffic congestion came from the U.S.
Table 3: 10 Most Congested Cities in the World in 2024
2024 Impact
Rank
(2023 Rank)
Urban Area
Country
2024 Delay
per Driver
(hours)
2023 Delay
per Driver
(hours)
Change
from 2023
Downtown
Speed (mph)
1 (6)
Istanbul
TUR
105
91
15 %
15
2 (1)
New York City, NY
USA
102
101
1 %
13
3 (5)
Chicago, IL
USA
102
96
6 %
14
4 (2)
Mexico City
MEX
97
96
1 %
13
5 (3)
London
GBR
101
99
2 %
13
6 (4)
Paris
FRA
97
97
0 %
13
7 (10)
Jakarta
IDN
89
65
37 %
13
8 (7)
Los Angeles, CA
USA
88
89
-1 %
22
9 (9)
Cape Town
ZAF
94
83
13 %
14
10 (12)
Brisbane
AUS
84
74
14 %
21
Combatting the Congestion Crisis
Access to reliable, consistent data is the first step in tackling congestion. Applying big data to create intelligent transportation systems is key to solving urban mobility problems. INRIX data and analytics on mobility, traffic signals, parking, safety and population movement can help city planners and engineers make data-based decisions to prioritize spending to maximize benefits and reduce costs now and into the future.
The key findings of the INRIX 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard provide a quantifiable benchmark for governments and cities across the world to measure progress to improve urban mobility and track the impact of spending on smart city initiatives.
Please visit www.inrix.com/scorecard for:
Full 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard reportInteractive webpage with data and information for nearly 1,000 cities and 37 countriesComplete methodology
About INRIX
Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered intelligent mobility solutions by transforming big data from connected devices and vehicles into mobility insights. For nearly two decades, INRIX has harnessed machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver precise and actionable mobility data. This revolutionary approach enabled INRIX to become one of the leading providers of data and analytics into how people move. By empowering cities, businesses, and people with valuable insights, INRIX is helping to make the world smarter, safer, and greener. With partners and solutions spanning across the entire mobility ecosystem, INRIX is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology and transportation – whether its keeping road users safe, improving traffic signal timing to reduce delay and greenhouse gasses, optimizing last-mile delivery, or helping uncover market insights. Learn more at INRIX.com.
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SOURCE INRIX
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