In 2022, the typical US driver spent 51 hours in traffic delays. As more people return to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic, that total is expected to grow. But where is traffic the worst? And what contributes to that congestion?
This animated map explores average daily traffic patterns for the 18 largest metropolitan areas in the US. It uses traffic data from ArcGIS to explore how far you can drive from the center of each city based on time of day and day of week.
As the video plays, you can see the pulsing ebb and flow of traffic throughout the day. Each city is shown at an identical scale so you can compare patterns across them. The colored polygons reflect the distance you can drive in 15, 30, and 45 minutes. The smaller the polygon, the more congested traffic is in that area.
Traffic worsens during morning and evening rush hours across all the cities. Evening congestion lasts longer overall and has a more visible impact on drive times. Day of the week also impacts traffic. In terms of the work week, congestion is lower on Mondays. Cities still experience rush hours on the weekends, but traffic is lower than weekdays at similar times.
The density of these cities leads to a lot of traffic problems, but geography also plays a role. This typically manifests in the form of constraints and barriers. In Denver, the Rocky Mountains limit how many people can travel west. In San Diego, the US/Mexico border also affects traffic flows and creates bottlenecks. And in several cities like New York and San Francisco, bays, rivers, and other bodies of water impact routing and drive times.
The video ends by highlighting the six cities with the worst traffic, according to TomTom. New York City ranks as the worst, where it takes someone nearly 20 minutes to drive five miles at peak rush hour.
More to Explore
- See which bridges in the US carry the most daily traffic.
- Take a granular look at annual average daily traffic on US roadways.
