Transportation

The 15 most congested cities in the US

By Mark Matousek
manhattan new york traffic
Traffic in New York City. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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AAA projects that 37.6 million Americans will travel by car this Memorial Day weekend, which would make  it one of the busiest holiday weekends for travel since 2000. For those who live in the biggest cities in the US, holiday travel will only add to the congestion they experience on a daily basis.

The transportation data firm INRIX Research released in February its annual ranking of the most congested cities in the US, measuring the amount of time lost per capita in 2018 due to the difference between traffic at the busiest and least busy commuting times each day. Cities were ranked based on delays caused by congestion, adjusted for each city's population. INRIX also measured the per capita and overall cost of congestion for each city.

Boston was named the most congested city in the US for the second year in a row. INRIX attributed the city's congestion to its age, population density, and geographic characteristics. 

These are the most congested cities in the US.

15. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore traffic Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Ben Schumin/Wikimedia Commons

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 94

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,315

Total cost of congestion for city: $1.3 billion

14. Austin, TX

Austin traffic
Philip Lange/Shutterstock

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 104

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,452

Total cost of congestion for city: $1.2 billion

13. Houston, TX

Houston traffic
Stan Honda/Getty Images

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 98

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,365

Total cost of congestion for city: $3.8 billion

12. Miami, FL

Miami traffic
Joe Skipper/Reuters

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 105

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,470

Total cost of congestion for city: $4 billion

11. Atlanta, GA

Atlanta traffic
Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 108

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,505

Total cost of congestion for city: $3.5 billion

10. Portland, OR

Portland traffic
Don Ryan/Associated Press

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 116

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,625

Total cost of congestion for city: $1.4 billion

9. Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia traffic
Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 112

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,568

Total cost of congestion for city: $3.3 billion

8. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco traffic
MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 116

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,624

Total cost of congestion for city: $3.4 billion

7. Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh traffic
Melissa Ross/Getty Images

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 127

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,776

Total cost of congestion for city: $1.2 billion

6. Seattle, WA

seattle traffic
AP/Ted S. Warren

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 138

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,932

Total cost of congestion for city: $2.9 billion

5. Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Traffic
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 128

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,788

Total cost of congestion for city: $9.3 billion

4. New York City, NY

manhattan new york traffic
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 133

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,859

Total cost of congestion for city: $9.5 billion

3. Chicago, IL

Chicago traffic 1
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 138

Cost of congestion per driver: $1,920

Total cost of congestion for city: $6.2 billion

2. Washington, DC

washington dc traffic highway gridlock
REUTERS/Jason Reed

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 155

Cost of congestion per driver: $2,161

Total cost of congestion for city: $4.6 billion

1. Boston, MA

boston traffic
AP/Elise Amendola

Hours lost in congestion per capita: 164

Cost of congestion per driver: $2,291

Total cost of congestion for city: $4.1 billion

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Mark Matousek
I'm a senior transportation reporter at Insider covering electric vehicles, automated-driving technology, and ride-hailing. I joined Insider in October 2017 and previously worked as an intern at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with degrees in film and media studies and business economics. You can follow me on Twitter @matousekmark and email me at mmatousek@bjinnox.com.  If you have sensitive information you'd like to share and don't feel comfortable sending it to my work email or via a direct-message on Twitter, you can contact me on the encrypted messaging app Signal at 646-768-4712 or email my encrypted address at mmatousek@protonmail.com. Here's some of my work: Uber insiders are divided over Dara Khosrowshahi's leadership, with some worried the company has become 'boring' and 'confused' about its future Nikola founder Trevor Milton convinced the world he was the next Elon Musk. Insiders say a history of lies brought the billionaire down. 17 hours a day, 7 days a week: Cruise-ship workers describe the grueling conditions they face on the job We talked to 42 insiders about Tesla's factory of the future. They revealed the corners cut to hit ambitious production targets. 70-hour weeks and 'WTF' emails: 42 employees reveal the frenzy of working at Tesla under the 'cult' of Elon Musk Tesla is transforming how cars are sold. But 27 insiders say the company's methods mean slashed pay and living under the constant threat of getting laid off. Uber insiders reveal how DoorDash stole its delivery crown and left Eats in the dust Uber's trying no-meeting Mondays to give employees a break from 'tiring' back-to-back meetings, a leaked email reveals Leaked email reveals a Tesla VP expressed concern about employees coming to work with COVID-19 symptoms Leaked document reveals Nikola flip-flopped on whether it would spend any of its $17 million of customer deposits to fund the Nikola One Insiders reveal Alibaba's Jack Ma sought a partnership with Canoo to build electric delivery vans, but the deal fell flat because the startup couldn't meet his aggressive timeline Leaked email from Elon Musk reveals the Model Y is experiencing production 'challenges' while passing the Model 3 as the top priority at Tesla's US car factory Leaked email and audio reveal Carnival-owned Holland America has struggled to give refunds to some customers Leaked documents reveal the severance packages laid off Carnival UK workers will receive Inside Tesla's overhaul plan for its sales and delivery teams to solve one of its toughest customer challenges
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