Slowest States

The best and worst US states for car journeys

Being stuck in slow-moving traffic is one of the most frustrating parts of driving, especially if you want to test out your new car subscription on the open road, without having to worry about traffic jams getting in the way of your journey and waiting for what feels like an eternity for the lights to turn green.

But which states are the slowest when it comes to car trips? We’ve looked into speed limits, road quality, signal delays, the proportion of cars on the road and the proportion of traffic deaths across the country to find out.

The slowest states

New Jersey

1

2.34/10

Speed Score

The Garden State can be crowned the slowest state, placing in the last five for four factors, giving it a speed score of only 2.34 out of 10. The state has one of the lowest speed limits when it comes to both urban and rural highways, at only 65 mph and ranks second last for its poor road quality. New Jersey is also one of the most congested states with 71 vehicles per mile of highway on average.

Hawaii

2

2.35/10

Speed Score

Hawaii takes second place, scoring poorly thanks to its high numbers of cars on the road, ranking last for the factor with 127 per mile. The Aloha State also has some of the lowest quality highways, with only 60% of its highways classified as acceptable. Hawaii also has the lowest maximum speed limits in the study too, going as low as 50 mph in urban areas.

California

3

2.42/10

Speed Score

Up next is California, scoring a mere 2.42 out of 10 when it comes to speediness. The state has some of the most crowded highways on the list with an average of 77 cars per mile of road, making it the second worst state for the factor. California also has some of the lowest maximum speed limits too, ranking second last for rural highways.

Key: Urban Rural Percentage of Acceptable Highways Signal Delay Per Vehicle (seconds) Vehicles per Mile of Road Road deaths per 100,000 people Speed Score /10

Speed Limits

State

The speediest states

Nebraska & North Dakota

1

8.06/10

Speed Score

Two midwestern states share the top spot for their smooth and speedy journeys with Nebraska and North Dakota scoring 8.06 out of 10. Nebraska takes the top spot as the speediest state, ranking highly across the board particularly when it comes to urban speed limits (75 mph) and delays at stop signals (12 seconds per vehicle) sharing first place for both factors. The state also takes third place for the quality of its highways, with 93% rated acceptable. North Dakota shares the top spot, ranking in the top three for nearly all of the factors we looked at. The state scores highly thanks to the low proportion of cars on its highways, taking first place for the factor with only an average of 5 vehicles per mile. It also has the fastest speed limit for urban areas at 75 mph.

Wyoming

3

7.62/10

Speed Score

Wyoming is the second-speediest state, with its highways scoring 7.62 out of 10. The state is in the top three for four factors, scoring highly with the shortest signal delay times of only 12 seconds per vehicle and the highest speed limit in urban areas at 75 mph. It also places second for both road quality and its high-speed limit on rural highways.

South Dakota

4

8.06/10

South Dakota

Taking third place is South Dakota, with the state scoring highly thanks to its high-speed limits on both urban and rural highways, ranking first and second for both factors. The Mount Rushmore State has some of the least crowded highways too, with only 8 cars per mile of highway taking it to second place for the factor.

Key: Urban Rural Percentage of Acceptable Highways Signal Delay Per Vehicle (seconds) Vehicles per Mile of Road Road deaths per 100,000 people Speed Score /10

Speed Limits

State

The slowest urban speed limits

Hawaii

1

50

Miles Per Hour

Hawaii has the slowest speed limits when it comes to urban highways, with motorists on the volcanic island having to obey a speed limit of just 50 mph. Hawaii has severe speed limits, going as low as 25 mph in residential areas as the islands are so small, drivers only need to travel short distances.

Vermont, New York & Rhode Island

2

55

Miles Per Hour

Speed limits are very useful for preventing accidents, giving you more time to react to potential dangers on the road, but can often seem frustratingly slow. Three northeastern states share second place for their urban speed limit, with Vermont, New York, and Rhode Island all limiting motorists to a maximum speed of 55 mph.

Oregon & Washington

3

60

Miles Per Hour

Two states in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon, and Washington rank third for their urban speed limits at only 60 mph. Both states have faced calls from motorists and even attempted to pass legislation raising the urban speed limit, but this was vetoed by governors citing the safety of drivers in the states.

State or Territory

Freeway (urban) MPH

The slowest rural speed limits

Hawaii

1

60

Miles Per Hour

Hawaii also has the lowest speed limit for rural highways at only 60 mph. Drivers on the islands have to keep their speed down as many of its highways are built into the coast or mountains, so roads can change direction quickly and drivers may not be able to adjust in time when driving too fast.

Various

2

65

Miles Per Hour

Eight states (Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) all take joint second place for their slow speed limits. With the exception of Alaska all of these states are in the population-dense northeast of the country where lower speed limits are kept in place as the area has a lot of dangerous mountain roads and slower speeds mean drivers have more time to react to hazards.

Various

10

70

Miles Per Hour

Speed limits on rural highways are generally higher than their urban counterparts, as these less congested roads mean a safer drive and allow for a faster journey. Just under half of the US states, from the Pacific coastal states of Washington, Oregon and California to the eastern seaboard from Maine all the way down to Florida and plenty in between, have a rural interstate highway speed limit of 70 mph, the maximum speed limit set by the federal government.

State or Territory

Freeway (urban) MPH

The worst road conditions

Rhode Island

1

52%

Acceptable highways

Rhode Island takes the top spot as the state with just over half of its highways considered acceptable by the Bureau of Transportation. Highways in The Ocean State have been chronically underfunded for years, with the state spending only 2% of its budget on road maintenance in 2020. So it's no wonder it ranks last for the factor.

New Jersey

2

55%

Acceptable highways

Up next is New Jersey with only 55% of the state’s highways considered acceptable by the Bureau of Transportation. Despite spending $1.14 million per square mile on state-controlled highways, New Jersey’s ancient infrastructure is still in dire need of repair as its roads still rank second last.

Hawaii

3

60%

Acceptable highways

Even for such a small state, Hawaii’s highways remain underbuilt and poorly maintained. Potholes and uneven roads plague motorists in the state, averaging 20.6 potholes for every 621 miles of road. So it's no surprise Hawaii takes third place for the factor with only 60% of its roads deemed acceptable.

State or Territory

% of Acceptable Highways

The longest delays

Nevada

1

21 seconds

Average signal delay:

Drivers in The Silver State spend the longest time waiting for the green light with traffic delays at stop signals, averaging 21 seconds for each vehicle. Congestion in Nevada is a result of the rapid population growth in its biggest cities twinned with poor infrastructure planning, leaving drivers waiting in traffic.

New York

2

20 seconds

Average signal delay:

Up next is New York, with the state averaging a delay of 20 seconds per vehicle at stop signals. Many of the traffic signals in the state work on timers to allow for a smoother journey. However, the sheer amount of pedestrians waiting to cross busy intersections in the country’s busiest city, New York quickly causes delays for drivers which bumps up the state’s average.

Louisiana & Massachusetts

3

19 seconds

Average signal delay:

No one likes to be stuck in traffic, and waiting for the lights to change sometimes feels like an eternity. Unfortunately, this is the case in both Louisiana and Massachusetts. Drivers in these states can expect to wait an average of 19 seconds at stop signals, three seconds longer than the national average.

State or Territory

Signal Delay Per Vehicle (seconds)

The most cars on the road

Hawaii

1

127

Cars per average mile

Hawaii has the most crowded highways, with 127 cars per mile. This comes as no surprise as the state has only 9,800 miles of road to cover an area of 100,00 square miles, making it the shortest total road network and pushing up the proportion of cars to highway miles.

California

2

77

Cars per average mile

Up next is California, with The Golden State being home to 77 cars per mile of highway. The roads in California are often crowded as the state has a dense population and lacks an effective public transport system too, forcing people to drive even short distances.

Delaware & New Jersey

3

71

Cars per average mile

Thanks to their relatively short road networks and high population density, both Delaware and New Jersey rank highly for the number of cars on their roads. Each state has 71 cars per mile of highway, taking them both to third place for the factor.

Key: Number of Vehicles Miles of Road Vehicles per Mile of Road

State

The deadliest roads

Mississippi

1

25

Road deaths per 100,000 people

The Magnolia State takes the unfortunate title of the state with the most dangerous roads with 25 deaths per 100,000 people. Mississippi has a high proportion of rural highways, which are often more dangerous than urban roads thanks to higher speed limits and lack of police supervision, which could explain the high proportion of lethal accidents.

Wyoming

2

22

Road deaths per 100,000 people

Taking second place is Wyoming. Drivers in the Western state constantly have to deal with difficult and often dangerous conditions including mountainous terrain, but the roads are especially deadly in winter, as the state is prone to snow drifts and avalanches which can leave behind slick patches of ice.

Arkansas & South Carolina

3

21

Road deaths per 100,000 people

Two states share third place for the safety of their roads both with 21 road deaths per 100,000 people, they are Arkansas and South Carolina. Up to 70% of the fatal road crashes in Arkansas happen on stretches of rural highway, as they lack safety features like paved shoulders. Emergency services also have to travel longer to reach a crash increasing the likelihood of fatalities. Drivers in South Carolina face a higher fatality, as seatbelt use is amongst the lowest in the nation, with more than 50% of traffic death victims failing to wear seatbelts.

Key: Population Vehicle miles traveled (millions) Fatal crashes Deaths Deaths per 100,000 population

State

Methodology

Beginning with a list of US states, we analyzed each one on the following factors. We then gave each state a normalized score out of ten for each of the factors, before taking an average across each of these scores to reach our final overall score out of ten.

Urban speed limits: The highest speed limit on urban highways in each state according to Wikipedia

Rural speed limits: The highest speed limit on rural highways in each state according to Wikipedia

Percentage of Acceptable Highways: The percentage of total roads in each state deemed in an acceptable condition In 2020 according to The Bureau of Transportation

Signal Delay Per Vehicle (seconds): The average number of seconds each vehicle spends waiting at stop signals In each state in 2020 according to Wikipedia

Vehicles per Mile of Road: The total number of registered vehicles in each state in 2020 according to The Bureau of Transportation divided by the total length of roads in each state in 2020 according to The Bureau of Transportation.

Road Deaths per 100,000 people: The total number of road traffic deaths in each state in 2020 per 100,000 of the population according to the NHTSA