It's official: D.C. has the worst traffic in the country
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Rush hour is more like wait forever hour. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pull over, Los Angeles — D.C. ranks No. 1 for the worst traffic in the nation, per a new Consumer Affairs ranking.
Why it matters: You're not imagining it. It's bad out there.
Driving the news: D.C. dethroned LA for its famous congestion, topping the list of America's 50 most populous cities with the worst congestion.
🚗 By the numbers:
- Average daily commute: Over 33 minutes (longest in the U.S.)
- Average length of weekday congestion: 6 hours, 35 minutes.
😱 That's the equivalent of 71 days spent in traffic per year.
Between the lines: The timing coincides with back-to-office orders for federal government employees, and many private sector organizations following suit.
Threat level: Low for fatal car crashes. Perhaps a silver lining of all the gridlock: D.C. ranks in the bottom 10, with less than 6 fatal crashes per 100,000 people, according to Consumer Affairs.
Yes, but: DMV drivers are still pretty risky.
- D.C. and Baltimore drivers have some of the shortest gaps on average between reported collisions among motorists from the 200 biggest U.S. cities, per Allstate claims data.
The big picture: Allstate determined risk by analyzing how many years drivers go without a reported collision for its 2025 America's Best Drivers Report.
- The nationwide average is over 10 years. D.C. drivers clock a collision nearly every four years, while Baltimore runs just over four.
- Alexandria, Virginia, is pretty risky, too — an average six years between collisions.
How it works: Allstate's report, which defines collisions as incidents resulting in property or collision damage claims, is based on 2022-2023 claims data.
- That means minor fender benders that go unreported — as common in city driving as potholes and work zones — aren't captured here.
The intrigue: D.C. recently passed a new set of road rules designed to deter and penalize dangerous drivers, levying lawsuits and heavy fines — including on out-of-state offenders — who've racked up violations.
- Lookin' at you, Maryland drivers.