Houston area ranks high on list of top 15 cities with the worst traffic in 2020

Thursday, July 1, 2021
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A new study from Texas A&M University ranked Houston high on a list of top cities in the U.S. with the worst traffic.

The annual Texas A&M Urban Mobility Report measured the average amount of time drivers spent sitting in traffic during peak travel periods throughout 2020.
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Since 1982, Los Angeles, California took the title as having the worst traffic, but for 2020, New York City took the lead.

The change was mostly attributed to businesses being shut down and more people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Drivers in New York spend a total of 56 hours a year sitting in traffic, the study found.



Boston ranked second with drivers sitting in traffic an average of 50 hours a year.

Finally, Houston ranked third, with drivers spending 49 hours in traffic.
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Houston wasn't the only Texas city to make the list. Dallas took seventh place.

Here's a look at the top 15 "very large" cities, aka cities with a population over 3 million people:
  1. New York, New York - 56 hours
  2. Boston, Massachusetts - 50 hours
  3. Houston, Texas - 49 hours
  4. Los Angeles, California - 46 hours
  5. San Francisco, California - 46 hours
  6. Washington, D.C. - 42 hours
  7. Dallas, Texas - 40 hours
  8. Chicago, Illinois - 39 hours
  9. Atlanta, Georgia - 37 hours
  10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 37 hours
  11. Detroit, Michigan - 35 hours
  12. Seattle, Washington - 31 hours
  13. Miami, Florida - 27 hours
  14. Phoenix, Arizona - 25 hours
  15. San Diego, California - 24 hours


You can view the entire report at mobility.tamu.edu. The study also ranked U.S. cities with smaller populations and cities based on fuel consumption and emissions.

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