With U.S. traffic congestion costing U.S. drivers $87 billion in 2018 and the U.S. ranked 17th in the world in road quality, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s Best & Worst States to Drive in as well as accompanying videos.
To determine the most driver-friendly states in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from average gas prices to share of rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.
South Dakota ranked 29th in the study. It did well for cost and traffic infrastructure but scored poorly for traffic safety.
| Best States for Driving | Worst States for Driving |
| 1. Iowa | 41. Montana |
| 2. Tennessee | 42. Alaska |
| 3. North Carolina | 43. New Jersey |
| 4. Texas | 44. West Virginia |
| 5. Nebraska | 45. Maryland |
| 6. Georgia | 46. Colorado |
| 7. Virginia | 47. California |
| 8. Indiana | 48. Washington |
| 9. Arkansas | 49. Rhode Island |
| 10. Alabama | 50. Hawaii |
Best vs. Worst
- Mississippi has the lowest share of rush-hour traffic congestion, 17.00 percent, which is five times lower than in California, the state with the highest at 85.00 percent.
- Mississippi has the lowest average regular gas price, $2.21 per gallon, which is 1.7 times lower than in Hawaii, the state with the highest at $3.66 per gallon.
- Vermont has the fewest car thefts (per 1,000 residents), 0.40, which is 13.6 times fewer than in Alaska, the state with the most at 5.42.
- California has the most auto-repair shops (per square root of the population), 1.529352, which is 7.2 times more than in Hawaii, the state with the fewest at 0.213839.
- Maine has the lowest average car insurance rate, $845, which is 3.1 times lower than in Michigan, the state with the highest at $2,611.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
