The Best and Worst U.S. Cities to Drive In for 2023 May Surprise You
Are you happy with your commute to work and around town? If so, you may have your city to thank for that. Drivers typically spend an average of 373 hours per year on the road, meaning a city’s road quality, gas prices, and traffic conditions are important daily factors. How does your city fare?
WalletHub gathered data and created a list of the best and worst cities to drive in for 2023. The best and worst cities may surprise you.
The 10 best cities to drive in are not in coastal regions
To determine the list of the best and worst cities to drive in, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across the U.S. and looked at 30 key indicators of driver friendliness. The data set also factored gas prices, the annual hours in traffic congestion, and auto repair shops per capita.
As such, the best cities for driving are:
- Corpus Christi, TX
- Raleigh, NC
- Boise, ID
- Plano, TX
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Greensboro, NC
- Laredo, TX
- Lubbock, TX
- Lincoln, NE
- Jacksonville, FL
Are you surprised that Corpus Christi, TX, is the best city to drive in? According to WalletHub, there are “many factors” that contribute to the Texas town being on top. For example, Corpus Christi has the lowest average gas price among any of the cities in the study at $3.358 per gallon.
Corpus Christi is also the third least expensive city for parking, with two hours only costing $1. Traffic congestion is also the best, as residents of the Texas town only spend an average of eight hours per year in traffic on their daily commutes. Compare that to Chicago at 155 hours, and it’s easy to see how great Corpus Christi residents have it.
The accident rate in Corpus Christi is also 8.3% lower than the national average, and there are plenty of auto repair shops compared to other cities.
The 10 worst cities to drive in are heavily populated areas
The 10 worst cities to drive in are in areas far more populated than the upper part of the list. Check them out below:
91.) Stockton, CA
92.) Seattle, WA
93.) New York, NY
94.) Chicago, IL
95.) Philadelphia, PA
96.) Los Angeles, CA
97.) Washington, DC
98.) Detroit, MI
99.) San Francisco, CA
100.) Oakland, CA
The city of Oakland, CA, ranked the lowest primarily due to its high cost of ownership maintenance and safety. New York ranked the lowest for traffic congestion, and Saint Louis, MO, ranked the lowest for safety despite its overall ranking of 58 on the list.
The best and worst cities to drive in are not what you think
Ultimately, although any city you reside and drive in could seemingly have the worst traffic conditions, gas prices, and safety, you could be wrong. We never would have thought Corpus Christi, TX, would come out on top.
Where does your city rank? Check out how this year’s standings compare to the ranking from last year.
