Seattle Among Worst in US for Rush Hour Traffic, Says New Study

A new study commissioned earlier this year reveals Seattle's rush hour traffic is among the worst in the US.

Study says Seattle 7th worst in US

The study was conducted by the Georgia-based injury law firm Bader-Scott, and analyzed Tom Tom road traffic data to determine which cities have the worst commute times. In order to get a full year of information, they utilized 2023 data.

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The study looked at how long drivers spent in rush hour traffic in the 80 biggest metro areas of the US. The study revealed how long, on average, drivers spend each day in rush hour travel:

1	New York	New York	5.17
2	San Francisco	California	4.13
3	Boston	Massachusetts	4.02
4	Chicago	Illinois	3.91
5	Los Angeles	California	3.54
6	Baltimore	Maryland	3.3
7	Honolulu	Hawaii	3.26
8	Miami	Florida	3.2
9	*Seattle*	*Washington*	3.17
9	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	3.17
10	Denver	Colorado	3.04

Italics added for emphasis. Seattle drivers spend an average of up to 3 hours and 17 minutes on work-related travel. Seattle is the only west coast city besides LA to be on the worst list.

This is despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on highway and road projects in the Puget Sound Metro designed to reduce congestion and improve safety. Portland came in 11th on the list. Boise, Idaho, was 26th.