Worst 5 U.S. Cities For Traffic & Tires in 2026

Why are we writing about cities with the worst traffic? Because stop-and-go traffic takes a toll on your vehicle and your tires. The quickest way to wear down your brakes and tires? Speeding combined with hard braking, quick turns and aggressive driving.

Tire Agent can help you easily find a perfect replacement for your tire online. 

If you think about the type of driving you do in traffic, this makes sense: Frequent braking, sudden acceleration, and extended idling put additional wear and tear on your vehicle. 

Following our list of the 5 cities with the worst traffic in America, we’ll offer tips to avoid driving in heavy traffic and explore potential effects that traffic congestion can have on your car. 

Cities in US With the Worst Traffic 

These rankings were determined by TomTom GPS maps, which evaluates the average travel time per 6 miles and the congestion level of major cities across the world. We narrowed the search to just the United States. 

New York, NY

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 31 min 35s
• Congestion level: 48.8%

New York City usually finds itself at the top of lists because of its high population density and limited number of entry and exit points into Manhattan — and other bottlenecks — that slow down driving. Many Manhattan residents forgo having a car entirely in favor of bikes, walking, and public transportation. These modes of transport can be equal to or better than the speed of driving!

San Francisco, CA

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 29 min 42s
• Congestion level: 49.7%

San Francisco is notorious for bad traffic. Many workers commute into the city by driving rather than taking public transportation and, as a result, the traffic gets bad around rush hours. San Francisco also has its fair share of bottlenecks, such as the Bay Bridge, which connects Oakland to San Francisco.

Honolulu, HI

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 20 min 59s
• Congestion level: 50.5%

It may be surprising that Honolulu is one of the worst cities for traffic, but its high population density and lack of space for roads make traffic especially bad. The islands of Hawaii are known for their mountainous terrain that’s difficult to build roads on or through. It’s surrounded by the ocean, of course, which makes infrastructure for roads limited. Most commuters have few options to avoid traffic. 

Miami, FL

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 17 min 45s
• Congestion level: 46.8%

Miami, especially downtown, is near the top of the worst cities for traffic because of the heavy population congestion and tourism. Florida usually tops lists of the nation’s fastest-growing states, especially because it’s a popular state to retire in. Miami and other major Florida cities have some catching up to do with roadway and public transportation infrastructure. 

Los Angeles, CA

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 15min 30s
• Congestion level: 59.8%

The most notorious city for traffic on our list, Los Angeles is infamous for its heavy traffic, due in part to few public transportation options and a massive population. The greater Los Angeles - Long Beach - Anaheim area had a population of 12+ million people in 2025, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis regional data. With such a large population spread across a huge area, commute times can be especially bad during rush hour.  

How to Avoid Rush Hour Traffic

Consider public transportation

If you need to commute to a major urban center, it may save you time and energy to take a bus, train, or subway into the city rather than driving. The quality of public transportation will vary from city to city. Even if you can’t reach your destination entirely through public transit, you may still be able to get into town using a park-and-ride service. This is where you drive to a designated parking lot and board a train or bus to get into the city. 

While this is a great way to avoid driving in traffic, this won’t necessarily make it quicker to get into a city. Public transportation can be just as slow as driving, especially depending on how frequently it stops and how many buses or trains are running.

Try Moovit, a mobile app that helps you navigate bus and public transportation lines and schedules around the U.S. Available for Apple and Google Play.

Use an app to check heavy travel times

If you’re making a one-time trip into a city or need to cross a high-traffic area, try to plan your route so you won’t hit it around rush hours. This may mean driving before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Sometimes, you’ll see breaks in traffic around midday while most people are working. 

For the daily commuter, this is more difficult. It may benefit you to talk to your manager, supervisor or HR office about options to come in earlier and leave earlier to avoid traffic! You can also use an app such as Google Maps or Waze to check routes and their busiest times. 

In this example, Google Maps shows that the busiest time to travel to Tower City Center (in downtown Cleveland) is around 4 p.m. Best times to travel are between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and after 7 p.m.  

Try a different route

Rush hour traffic actually has two segments: morning and afternoon. The general flow is people going into the city during the morning and out of the city at night. If you’re finding yourself stuck in a traffic jam on your regular route, try different routes and time them to see if your commute improves. Sometimes, leaving 30 minutes earlier can make a significant time difference in your commute.

You may also try a different GPS app if the one that you’re using is often hitting traffic. Modern GPS apps include options for avoiding highways or automatically reroute around traffic in real time. GPS apps are also more conscious of the current traffic situation and accidents/slowdowns and will help you avoid them.  

Consider alternative modes of transportation

Depending on the length of your drive and the laws of your state, you may be able to mitigate the worst of traffic by driving a smaller vehicle. This is most effective in states like California, where lane splitting is legal for a motorcycle. Lane splitting is where you drive between car lanes to bypass traffic. Proceed with caution!

Some cities have added bike lanes for bicyclists to get in, out and around. A bike, e-bike, or scooter can be a great choice if you don’t have to go very far and want to avoid the traffic! And of course, if you are able.

Is Driving in Heavy Traffic Bad for My Vehicle?

Bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go traffic puts a lot of wear on your vehicle. It’s slow, boring, produces low gas mileage, as you spend gas accelerating your car and then quickly bringing it to a dead stop without covering much distance, which is very frustrating. But it’s also bad for your brakes and tires. This is because frequent braking after accelerating over and over requires your brake pads to make constant contact with the rotating brake rotor.

Extend the life of your brake pads

If you’re stuck in freeway traffic, our best advice is to adopt a driving style that minimizes braking. It’s tempting to accelerate to get close to the driver ahead of you, but a narrowed gap won’t speed up your trip — and it’s dangerous. 

When you do need to brake, aim for a slow, gradual stop rather than a sudden one. Ease off the accelerator early, let your speed drop naturally, and then apply the brakes. This puts less stress on your brake pads and tires than hard, repeated braking, which adds up over time.

• Don't rapidly accelerate and brake.
• Leave a safe following distance between you and the car in front of you, and let go of aggressive driving habits.
• Take your foot off the accelerator to naturally allow your vehicle to slow.
• Gently tap the brakes.

By adopting a safe braking technique, you can make your brake pads last longer.

Maximize fuel efficiency

You use more fuel with aggressive driving, as your engine uses more fuel when you accelerate. When on a highway at high speeds in light traffic, this type of cruising uses less fuel than accelerating and decelerating. If you have cruise control, you can automate the process in light, steady traffic, but not in heavy traffic. 

Pay attention to your temperature gauge when sitting in heavy traffic, especially during summer. A well-maintained car should handle stop-and-go traffic without overheating, but slow speeds mean less airflow through the radiator, which puts more demand on your cooling fan. If you notice your temperature gauge creeping up, you can turn off your A/C, which adds extra heat load to the engine. Switching it off can help the vehicle’s engine cool. Of course, if the temperature remains high, this may warrant a trip to your mechanic. 

• Try to maintain a safe, cruising speed, even if it is below the speed limit (but within the flow of traffic).
• Avoid rapid acceleration; gradual acceleration uses less fuel.

Reduce tire wear in heavy traffic

If you’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic and repeatedly slamming on the brakes, this puts extra strain on your tires. Slamming on the brakes may cause your tires to slide on the road, which can wear the tread. 

Likewise, avoid speeding up the moment there’s a space in front of you. In traffic, you should keep at least three seconds of following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. To calculate three seconds, pick a fixed point such as a road sign and count how many seconds pass between the car in front of you and you; it should be at least 3 seconds. 

Regularly check brake pads and brake rotors if you’re frequently driving in stop-and-go traffic. These components will wear down if you’re frequently braking and can result in damage to your vehicle’s braking system if not maintained.