DC ranked the second-worst large U.S. city for driving in 2026, study finds

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Washington ranked as the second-worst city in the country to drive in among the nation’s 100 largest cities, according to a new WalletHub study.

The personal-finance website ranked the District 99th overall in its 2026 list of the Best and Worst Cities to Drive In. The study compared cities across 30 measures involving driving costs, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance.

Washington received an overall score of 36.36 out of 100.

Why Washington ranked near the bottom

What we know:

Washington ranked 96th for traffic and infrastructure and 96th for safety. It also placed 73rd for the cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle and 61st for access to vehicles and maintenance.

Among the individual measures, Washington ranked:

• 61st for annual hours spent in congestion per auto commuter
• 97th for accident likelihood compared with the national average
• 81st for car-theft rate
• 89th for auto-repair shops per capita
• 58th for average gas prices
• 76th for auto-maintenance costs
• 75th for average parking rates

WalletHub said Americans lose an average of $894 each year because of time spent in traffic.

How the study worked

By the numbers:

WalletHub compared the country’s 100 largest cities using 30 indicators of how driver-friendly each city is. The measures included gas prices, traffic congestion, accident likelihood, car-theft rates, road conditions, parking costs and repair-shop access.

A lower numerical rank is better in the study. The rankings are based on WalletHub’s methodology and are not a measure of any individual driver’s experience.

Who ranked best

Dig deeper:

Scottsdale, Arizona, ranked first overall, followed by Boise, Idaho, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In the region, Pittsburgh ranked 62nd, Newark ranked 87th, Jersey City ranked 88th, Baltimore ranked 92nd and New York ranked 97th.

Full ranking: Best and worst cities to drive in

Washington, D.C.