Los Angeles (95 hours)* San Francisco (97 hours) Washington, D.C. (83 hours) Houston (74 hours)
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While Los Angeles is consistently ranked the city in the U.S. with the worst traffic congestion, the Bay Area is not far behind. Bay Area traffic statistics earned the metro a spot on INRIX's Global Congestion Ranking.
At the top of the list of problematic California freeway traffic conditions is a 6-mile portion of Interstate 5 in Norwalk between freeways 710 and 605. At any hour of the day, Monday through Sunday, this area is a sea of red tail lights as cars drive at a turtle's pace or is stand still without moving at all.
Los Angeles ranked as No.6 in the U.S. with drivers losing the most hours in traffic. Chicago took the top spot, with drivers there losing 155 hours, followed by Boston (134 hours), New York (117 hours), Philadelphia (114 hours), and Miami (105).
Los Angeles is warmer and sunnier, has a more diverse culture, offers plenty of famous landmarks, and great food options. San Francisco, by contrast, offers a more chill vibe, a hippie scene, more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, and plenty of things to do without needing to drive.
You may think Los Angeles traffic is bad, but when it comes to the 2021 edition of the TomTom Traffic Index report, it doesn't even rank in the top 50. In fact, of all the cities on Earth, only one American metropolis even makes such a list.
The 143-mile stretch on State Route 139 from Susanville to the Oregon border in Northeastern California landed in the No. 1 spot as the state's loneliest road. It also came in as the fifth most scenic route in the country.
The southbound I-5 (Interstate 5) between Euclid Avenue to Interstate-605 is the most gridlocked road in the United States. Someone using this stretch of road for a daily work commute would lose, on average, 89 hours of their life every year.