Washington D.C. has overtaken Los Angeles as the city with the worst traffic in the United States, according to a new report from ConsumerAffairs. The report, which analyzed data from the 50 largest metropolitan areas, found that drivers in Washington D.C. experience the longest average commute times in the country at 33.4 minutes. This marks a significant shift, as Los Angeles has long been notorious for its traffic congestion.
While Los Angeles still leads in total weekday congestion hours, with nearly eight hours of traffic each day, Washington D.C. follows closely with six hours and 35 minutes of congestion. According to BBC, this equates to spending about 71 days in traffic each year for D.C. commuters.
The change in rankings is partly attributed to recent federal policies requiring more workers to return to their offices, which has increased traffic in the nation’s capital. Despite the congestion, Washington D.C. ranks in the bottom 10 for fatal car crash rates, with fewer than six fatal crashes per 100,000 residents, as reported by NBC Washington.
Experts, like Michael Manville from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, suggest that increased congestion can be a sign of economic prosperity, as growing regions attract and retain residents. However, the exact causes of D.C.’s worsening traffic remain uncertain. Meanwhile, cities like Rochester, Salt Lake City, and Cleveland are noted for having the least traffic congestion, as mentioned by UCLA Luskin.
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