2018’s Best & Worst Cities to Drive in

Adam McCann, Financial Writer

February 2019

Most Americans rely on cars to get around. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, "87 percent of daily trips take place in personal vehicles." And even with growing access to public transportation in U.S. cities, most people still choose to travel by car, mainly for reasons such as "comfort and reliability."

In truth, however, driving is often a major hassle and expense. Drivers annually spend an average of more than 290 hours on the road. For a full time worker, that’s the equivalent of a seven week vacation. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and our collective tab comes to about $124 billion annually, or $1,700 per household.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, America’s highways and bridges are underfunded, with an $836 billion backlog of repairs needed. The World Economic forum ranks U.S. roads at 10th in quality out of 137 economically developed nations. It’s clear there’s room for improvement.

But some cities are better for those behind the wheel. To determine those places, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 29 key indicators of driver friendliness. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to annual hours in traffic congestion per auto commuter to auto repair shops per capita.

 

Overall Rank 1=Best	City	Total Score	‘Cost of Ownership & Maintenance Rank’	‘Traffic & Infrastructure’ Rank	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Access to Vehicle & Maintenance’ Rank
1	Raleigh, NC	68.40	1	17	27	55
2	Corpus Christi, TX	68.26	10	1	18	82
3	Orlando, FL	67.35	8	3	83	4
4	Greensboro, NC	66.31	2	25	45	66
5	Plano, TX	64.71	20	30	8	48
6	Winston-Salem, NC	64.70	5	16	56	92
7	Durham, NC	64.50	4	34	37	89
8	El Paso, TX	64.34	28	20	6	71
9	Jacksonville, FL	63.87	9	11	65	33
10	Tampa, FL	63.67	38	28	46	7
11	Birmingham, AL	63.43	3	9	96	22
12	Las Vegas, NV	62.93	52	5	53	6
13	Arlington, TX	62.41	21	47	30	27
14	Austin, TX	62.32	32	43	38	13
15	Lincoln, NE	62.31	36	37	11	86
16	Fort Worth, TX	62.09	25	50	32	19
17	Laredo, TX	62.00	16	41	12	99
18	Nashville, TN	61.76	37	18	44	39
19	Charlotte, NC	61.60	7	44	66	32
20	Scottsdale, AZ	61.57	62	2	21	51
21	Gibert, AZ	61.44	56	19	4	94
22	Wichita, KS	61.42	13	27	47	87
23	Mesa, AZ	61.39	47	15	22	58
24	Virginia Beach, VA	61.34	17	65	14	74
25	Boise, ID	61.13	41	12	29	81
26	Chesapeake, VA	60.60	11	68	17	96
27	Oklahoma City, OK	60.03	29	54	36	36
28	Tuscon, AZ	59.71	30	6	88	40
29	Lubbock, TX	59.60	23	10	68	83
30	Henderson, NV	59.52	65	22	7	77
31	Norfolk, VA	59.47	6	63	49	85
32	Chandler, AZ	59.33	55	7	25	90
33	Lexington-Fayette, KY	59.00	12	33	72	88
34	Irvine, CA	58.97	88	4	1	30
35	St. Petersburg, FL	58.74	15	38	70	70
36	Dallas, TX	58.31	34	64	73	11
37	Irving, TX	58.19	31	59	40	59
38	Fort Wayne, IN	58.06	22	61	43	80
39	Indianapolis, IN	57.83	19	51	82	26
40	Garland, TX	57.69	35	42	63	43
41	Kansas City, MO	57.53	18	24	87	68
42	Toledo, OH	57.37	14	48	77	84
43	San Antonio, TX	57.34	42	58	79	12
44	Phoenix, AZ	56.85	49	31	74	24
45	Colorado Springs, CO	56.70	44	70	28	67
46	Houston, TX	56.16	48	77	69	2
47	Omaha, NE	56.14	40	73	48	60
48	Cincinnati, OH	56.11	27	46	92	16
49	Atlanta, GA	56.08	24	62	94	9
50	Columbus, OH	55.97	33	60	84	31
51	Reno, NV	55.82	67	32	35	79
52	Tulsa, OK	54.95	50	49	71	38
53	Sacramento, CA	54.90	83	36	23	15
54	Riverside, CA	54.62	80	26	15	50
55	Fresno, CA	54.54	78	21	19	72
56	St. Paul, MN	54.28	51	76	39	65
57	Memphis, TN	54.12	39	39	93	61
58	Madison, WI	54.08	66	74	5	91
59	North Las Vegas, NV	53.77	60	23	57	97
60	Portland, OR	53.63	46	69	81	25
61	Chula Vista, CA	53.46	91	13	2	64
62	Louisville, KY	53.19	59	52	75	45
63	Baton Rouge, LA	52.94	57	53	76	54
64	Fremont, CA	52.83	98	45	3	44
65	Bakersfield, CA	52.72	82	8	62	63
66	Glendale, AZ	52.23	53	14	85	93
67	St. Louis, MO	52.21	26	67	100	8
68	Anchorage, AK	52.11	45	93	24	100
69	Anaheim, CA	51.83	94	35	16	20
70	Minneapolis, MN	51.72	69	83	34	46
71	San Diego, CA	51.26	95	55	10	10
72	Pittsburgh, PA	51.04	68	80	67	21
73	Santa Ana, CA	50.95	87	75	9	17
74	Miami, FL	50.60	70	84	90	1
75	Denver, CO	50.41	63	87	54	29
76	Albuquerque, NM	50.26	43	56	98	53
77	Buffalo, NY	49.93	74	71	50	75
78	Hialeah, FL	49.89	72	81	64	41
79	New Orleans, LA	49.73	77	57	59	76
80	Stockton, CA	49.70	79	29	55	98
81	Aurora, CO	49.54	61	91	51	73
82	Milwaukee, WI	49.14	64	86	80	49
83	Jersey City, NJ	48.78	73	98	33	35
84	Long Beach, CA	48.18	93	66	20	23
85	Cleveland, OH	47.73	58	82	97	18
86	Honolulu, HI	46.79	85	79	42	34
87	San Bernardino, CA	45.89	89	40	58	75
88	San Jose, CA	45.75	96	72	13	69
89	Baltimore, MD	45.05	71	78	95	62
90	Washington, DC	44.93	54	95	89	52
91	Chicago, IL	44.49	81	99	41	14
92	Los Angeles, CA	44.41	97	90	31	5
93	Newark, NJ	43.29	75	96	86	28
94	New York, NY	43.28	92	100	26	3
95	Boston, MA	42.59	76	97	60	78
96	Seattle, WA	42.03	90	88	61	42
97	Philadelphia, PA	41.29	84	89	91	37
98	Oakland, CA	38.44	99	85	78	56
99	San Francisco, CA	36.05	100	92	52	57
100	Detroit, MI	35.13	86	94	99	47

 

 

Ask the Expert

Joel Ohman

Certified Financial Planner and Founder of CarInsuranceComparison.com

 

When do you think there will be more self driving cars than human driven?

While there is much excitement about self driving cars, and rapid strides have been made, it’s becoming more and more apparent that going from semi-autonomous to fully autonomous is more difficult than the progress we have made to date. And yet, babies being born today will likely find themselves, at age 16, wondering what this thing called a "driver’s license" is that their parents said they used to be so concerned with.

 

Considering all potential consequences, do you think that automated vehicles will be a net benefit or net negative for society?

One of the single biggest ways that AI will affect the insurance industry will be in the major role it plays in autonomous/self driving vehicles. In the near term, auto insurance rates will likely increase, since insurers will be uncertain how to price the uncharted territory of self driving vehicles. However, in the long term, rates will likely decrease significantly because of the likely increase in safe driving habits that self driving cars will exhibit as compared to their fallible human counterparts.

It is highly likely that with the introduction of self driving cars, the number of auto insurance claims will plummet. This is fantastic for the average motorist, but potentially a big negative for car insurance companies since they could see premiums decrease substantially in the long term.

 

Joel Ohman, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™,
#1 bestselling author, angel investor,
serial entrepreneur, and
owner of CarInsuranceComparison.com.