Top 5 States With The Worst Roads in the U.S. 

Why focus on the states with the worst roads in America? Because the main point of contact between your car and the road is your tires. Tires are responsible for bearing the brunt of the potholes, cracks, debris, sharp objects, and anything else that’s on the road. If you drive in an area that has especially bad roads, you need to be aware of what these roads can do to your tires. 

If your tire does have irreparable damage, Tire Agent is your first stop for finding a new set of tires. 

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In this article, we’ll cover the five states with the worst roads in the U.S. We’ll cover a bit about why these roads are considered so bad and what you can do to protect your tires and rims and get the most treadwear from your tires. We’ll also include some tips for avoiding tire damage as you drive. 

Our data comes from Consumer Affairs, which ranked these roads based on road roughness, spending on road improvements, and other data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer Affairs also surveyed residents from each state, but the responses were not factored into their rankings. 

1. New Mexico

New Mexico, as one of the largest states by size in the U.S., is home to mostly rural roads. It’s #1 on this list because of how difficult it is for the state to maintain the hundreds of miles of rural roads. Although the state has a $1.3 billion DOT budget, this is relatively low for a state with so much road to maintain and repair. 

With a lot of highway traffic as shipped goods travel through the state, New Mexico’s roads have been worn over time, becoming unstable, cracked, and riddled with potholes. The extra damage to tires and potential dangers end up costing the average New Mexico resident a lot more per month to drive in these poor conditions!

• Percentage of urban roads in poor condition: 41.7%
• Percentage of rural roads in poor condition: 30.7%
• Traffic fatalities per 100M miles traveled: 1.74

2. Mississippi

Mississippi makes second on the list with the most (18,000) miles of rural roads among these states. The problem is attributed to the clay soil underneath the road. These clay deposits are found under roads in many Mississippi counties. When it rains, the clay expands, creating bubbles and deformities beneath the roads. As it drains, the clay contracts, but the repeated expansion and contraction do serious harm to the roads above. 

This makes it difficult to find a long-term solution for. Robert Lee, Jackson’s city engineer, was quoted by the Clarion Ledger as saying most of the roads need to be entirely repaved! 

• Percentage of urban roads in poor condition: 40.9%
• Percentage of rural roads in poor condition: 27.6%
• Traffic fatalities per 100M miles traveled: 1.76

3. Hawaii

Hawaii has a unique problem among this list: A lot of coastlines, frequent rain and flooding, as well as volcanoes!

With salt water frequently covering and eroding the roads, it’s difficult for Hawaii to keep up with the cracks, potholes, and other damage. Hawaii is also a volcanic chain of islands that experiences a lot of earthquakes and seismic activity that shifts and shakes the islands. It’s the roads that suffer, and Hawaii’s infrastructure budget is spread thin as the state deals with many issues that result from the turbulent weather. 

Residents and visitors of Hawaii report a lot of potholes as they drive that have to be driven around or avoided.

• Percentage of urban roads in poor condition: 44.3%
• Percentage of rural roads in poor condition: 28.5%
• Traffic fatalities per 100M miles traveled: 1.13

4. Louisiana

Louisiana is a uniquely swampy state that has the second-highest car insurance premiums in the U.S., according to Insurance Business Magazine (Florida is #1). The especially wet climate and annual hurricanes make maintaining Louisiana roads especially difficult. 

The budget that Louisiana has for annual road repairs isn’t enough to address the root of the problem — the swampy, unstable soil. With frequent floods, rain, and hurricanes, the water seeps into the cracks of the pavement, creating potholes as the ground shifts underneath the road. 

• Percentage of urban roads in poor condition: 38.2%
• Percentage of rural roads in poor condition: 21.2%
• Traffic fatalities per 100M miles traveled: 1.60

5. Rhode Island

Road Island may be the smallest state, but 32% of the rural roads are considered in “poor” condition. With most of the residents living near the coast, this starts to make sense. 

Water is one of the biggest culprits for poor road conditions, especially in areas that experience freezing winters. As water seeps into the cracks of roads, it can erode the inside of a road, which expands the cracks and creates a larger weakness. This is even more true in the winter, when water expands as it freezes, which results in small cracks and weak points that can expand into massive potholes as heavy cars repeatedly drive on the pavement. 

Residents in Rhode Island report that insurance rates are high and potholes are everywhere on the state’s roads. 

• Percentage of urban roads in poor condition: 39.3%
• Percentage of rural roads in poor condition: 32.2%
• Traffic fatalities per 100M miles traveled: 0.69

How to prevent tire damage from bad roads

As we’ve covered the five states with the worst roads, you’ve probably noticed potholes as a common problem that these states have. Even outside these states, you’re still likely to encounter potholes while driving on the road. Potholes can cause a lot of damage to your tires, wheels, and even the internal mechanics of your vehicle. 

To avoid a puncture, dent, or tire bubble that results from driving over a pothole:

• Increase your stopping distance between you and the vehicle in front of you so you can spot the pothole and have time to react to it.
• Slow down and then coast over the pothole, but don’t brake while in the pothole.
• Keep your tires properly inflated and maintained so that there aren’t any weak points as you drive.
• Firmly grasp the steering wheel and don’t suddenly swerve if you can’t avoid the pothole beforehand — try to hit the pothole head on to minimize damage to the sidewalls or rims.

If you do roll over a pothole, check your tires and wheels afterward, when it is safe to do so, for signs of damage or tire bubbles. Even if you don’t immediately lose tire pressure, there still may be a scratch or bulge that is a result of the damage. If you don’t replace your tire immediately, the tire may burst while you’re on the road and damage your car or you! 

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