Seattle's traffic woes worsen
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Seattle's commute is eating more time than almost anywhere else in the country, and a new analysis shows just how much those delays add up.
The big picture: Seattle commuters lost about 40% more hours to traffic than the typical U.S. driver, according to a new global analysis of real-world vehicle trips across 942 urban areas.
Driving the news: INRIX's annual Global Traffic Scorecard was released Monday by the Kirkland-based traffic analytics company.
- It showed that Seattle drivers lost 68 hours to traffic this year, 10th in the nation, up from 63 hours in 2024 — an 8% increase.
- That's 19 hours more than the national average.
By the numbers: Time lost to traffic in 2025 cost the typical Seattle driver $1,252 and pushed the region's total economic hit close to $2 billion, per the annual report.
Yes, but: A separate 2025 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found Seattle-area drivers spent 87 hours delayed in 2024.
- That metric tracks total hours of congestion across the full metro area, not INRIX's "hours lost" calculation focused on commute corridors.
- The two datasets aren't directly comparable, though both point to rising congestion.
What they're saying: "Seattle drivers experience some of the most intense congestion in the United States," said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX.
- "Seattle ranks higher than some denser and more-populated metros due to its prosperous economy and desirability; but the added traffic continues to strain the region's limited road and highway network."
Zoom in: One corridor, among the region's worst choke points, accounts for a disproportionate share of the pain, per INRIX.
- I-405 northbound from Renton to I-90 was the only Seattle-area highway to crack the nation's top 25 busiest corridors.
- Drivers who rely on that route lost about 61 hours to traffic on that stretch alone.
- The 8am peak-hour trip averaged 21 minutes, the analysis showed.
Stunning stat: Chicago commuters lost 112 hours last year — about two-thirds more than Seattle's total — while Istanbul topped the world at 118 hours lost.
Between the lines: The report notes that while some major Western metros — including Los Angeles, London and Paris — saw traffic delays recede, congestion broadly increased across the U.S., Asia and parts of Europe compared with 2024.
What we're watching: Whether more commuters return to transit — which remains roughly 20% below 2019 levels nationally — and whether New York City's early congestion-pricing results, where the number of top bottleneck corridors shrank from five to one, influence policy conversations in Seattle.