7-31-2025 4:05am

Balto-DC Traffic

Here's Where Baltimore Ranks Among Cities With The Worst Traffic

A new ranking from ConsumerAffairs looked at traffic data from the 50 biggest metropolitan areas to determine where traffic was the worst.

Baltimore is among the top 10 worst U.S. cities for traffic, according to a new analysis.

To find out which U.S. cities have the worst traffic, the research team at ConsumerAffairs analyzed data including average commute times, daily hours of congestion and the rate of fatal car crashes in the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas.

Compared with the publication's 2024 analysis, this year’s ranking saw some significant shuffling, as some cities scored better and worse in various traffic metrics.

After spending last year at No. 10, Baltimore moved up one spot this year to No. 9.

The average commute to work in Baltimore is 29.2 minutes, among the longest in the United States, according to ConsumerAffairs' analysis. On an average weekday in Baltimore, traffic congestion lasts nearly 5.75 hours.

There’s one bright spot in Baltimore's data: The metro low for fatal car crash rates, with just over 6.7 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents.

The following 10 cities had the worst traffic in the country, according to ConsumerAffairs:

Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles, California
Miami, Florida
San Francisco, California
Atlanta, Georgia
New York City
Houston, Texas
Seattle, Washington
Baltimore, Maryland
San Jose, California

The 10 metros had the least traffic:

Rochester, New York
Salt Lake City, Utah
Cleveland, Ohio
Hartford, Connecticut
St. Louis, Missouri
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Columbus, Ohio
Fresno, California
Kansas City, Missouri
Buffalo, New York

While each city faces unique challenges when it comes to rush-hour congestion, what causes traffic in the first place?

It’s multifactorial, said Michael Manville, an urban planning professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. But ultimately, it comes down to the sheer volume of cars on the road.

“Congestion is oftentimes a sign of economic prosperity,” he told ConsumerAffairs. A region with a growing economy provides a lot of opportunity, so people want to work there, or when they grow up there, they don’t have reason to leave, he explained. Those economic and job opportunities bring population growth, which means more households and more cars.

See the full ConsumerAffairs ranking.