Top 10 US cities struggling with the worst traffic

Commuting through major metropolitan cities is a task. Add to that the blaring horns, hours and hours of traffic and annoying drivers- and you get a day in the life of an average American. It is no secret that traffic congestion costs really precious time, but now a new study from traffic data firm INRIX tallies just how costly congestion really is in both time and money.

One would expect that major cities like New York and Los Angeles to top the list. Instead a much smaller metro claimed the unwelcome title of America’s most congested city. Even more surprising? This city ranked third worst in the world, beating out the likes of notoriously traffic-clogged London and Paris.

How were the most congested cities determined?

INRIX measured and analyzed congestion with the help of anonymized, aggregated GPS trip data along with other sources, such as mobile, connected vehicles and fleet data, to track commutes and provide a snapshot of traffic delays in more than 900 cities in 36 countries.

Further to understand the economic cost of traffic, INRIX applied inflation-adjusted hourly values of time as outlined by the United States Federal Highway Administration.

Which US city has the worst traffic?

The unfortunate title of 2025’s most traffic-congested city in the US was bagged by Chicago. It also had the honor of ranking third globally when it came to traffic.

As per the data, drivers of Chicago lost 112 hours, almost five days!, sitting in traffic, a 10% increase from the year before. In comparison an average US driver lost just about 50 hours in traffic. And those inconvenient delays in Chicago came at a price as well costing each commuter there an estimated $2,063 in lost time, which is a $7.5-billion hit citywide.

To put things more clearly, during the peak commuting time in morning and evening- the peak speeds in Chicago drops to 21 mph. And during off peak driving averaged around 42 mph.

In comparison New York drivers lost 102 hours in traffic which amounted to a cost of $1,879 per driver. During morning and afternoon rush hours the peak speed drops to 15 mph and during off-peak it is 30 mph.

What other US cities are the worst for traffic?

While Chicago performed worst other major US cities are not faring much better, here are 10 worst cities when it comes to traffic

Chicago

New York City

Philadelphia

Los Angeles

Boston

Miami

Atlanta

Houston

Washington, DC

Seattle

Which cities have the worst traffic in the world?

Destinations currently holding the unfortunate distinction of having the world’s worst congestion:

Istanbul

Mexico City

Cape Town, South Africa

London

Paris

Jakarta, Indonesia

Dublin

Bangkok

Brisbane, Australia

Rome