What Are the Best and Worst US States to Drive In?

States are spending historic amounts on highways, boosted by new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) dollars, yet many drivers still hit the same potholes and rough pavement every day. MoneyGeek analyzed the latest Highway Statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation to rank every state's road quality, compare capital outlay per lane mile and examine whether bigger budgets are buying smoother roads.

The answer is surprising: after accounting for how much traffic each state's network carries, there is no statistical correlation between spending per lane mile and road quality. Some of the highest-spending states still have rough roads, while several lower-spending states have relatively smooth pavement. That disconnect has real costs for drivers, who pay hundreds of dollars a year in extra vehicle operating costs when roads are in poor condition.

MoneyGeek created a Road Roughness Index by combining Federal Highway Administration international roughness index (IRI) data across Interstate, arterial and collector roads in rural and urban areas. Under FHWA standards, roads with IRI under 95 inches per mile are "good," 95 to 170 "acceptable" and above 170 "poor."

California ranks as the most challenging state to drive in the U.S., third for road congestion and fifth most expensive for motorists. Drivers pay $5 per gallon for gas, annual maintenance costs of $416 and annual toll costs of $497. California still ranks worst overall. Cheap full coverage auto insurance isn't enough to offset its congestion and cost burdens.

Louisiana ranks as the second-worst state for driving. The state records nearly 20 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents, the sixth-highest rate in the U.S. Only 71% of Louisiana's roads are in acceptable condition, ranking seventh-worst in the country. Maryland, ranked fourth-worst overall, is the priciest state for drivers. Beyond high gas and maintenance costs, Maryland carries the second-highest annual premium for full coverage auto insurance at $1,191.

Nebraska ranks as the best state for drivers, led by the second-lowest car expenses in the United States. Gas prices are $3.47 per gallon, and annual insurance premiums rank sixth-lowest at $488. Nebraska ranks ninth for infrastructure quality; over 90% of its roads and bridges are in acceptable condition.

North Dakota and South Dakota have the least congested roads in the country and rank in the top 10 for overall driving conditions. North Dakota ranks third, while South Dakota ranks seventh. Commute times in both states average 20 minutes, below the national average of 26 minutes.

MoneyGeek looked at five categories of data to identify the best and worst states to drive across the U.S. Those categories include:

• Congestion: Average morning commute times and vehicle miles traveled per lane mile (how many vehicles use each mile-long stretch of road annually) make up this category.
• Cost: Gas prices per gallon, annual car maintenance costs, annual toll expenses per vehicle and average annual premiums from the cheapest full coverage auto insurance options in each state all factor into this category.
• Infrastructure: The percentage of roads and bridges in acceptable condition in each state determines this ranking.
• Safety: Fatal crashes per 100,000 people and car thefts per 100,000 vehicles form the basis of this category.
• Weather: Fatal car crashes per 100,000 people in snowy and rainy conditions account for this category's score.

Where a driver lives has a direct effect on commute times, insurance costs and road safety. MoneyGeek analyzed 12 metrics across five categories to rank every state: congestion, cost, infrastructure, safety and weather.

Each metric received a weight based on its impact on the driving experience. A weighted average produced the final ranking score. The state with the lowest final ranking score ranks as the worst place to drive.

• Congestion (25%) measures time lost to traffic. Vehicle miles traveled per lane mile (how many vehicles use each mile-long stretch of road annually) came from 2022 Federal Highway Administration data (12.5%). The Census Bureau's 2022 one-year American Community Survey supplied average commute times in minutes (12.5%).
• Cost (20%) covers the out-of-pocket expense of driving. Gas prices per gallon for mid-grade gas came from CollectAPI's Gas Prices API, accessed in July 2024 (5%). Annual toll costs per vehicle divided government highway spending funded by toll revenue by the number of registered vehicles per state; the source was 2021 Federal Highway Administration data. Delaware's 2021 vehicle registration came directly from Delaware State Police's Reports/Statistics because FHWA data had an unexplained drop from 2020 to 2021 (5%). Annual auto insurance premiums used the cheapest full coverage option in each state from state insurance departments and Quadrant Information Services; quotes are current as of July 2024 (5%). Annual maintenance costs came from CarMD 2021 data (5%).
• Infrastructure (20%) shows road and bridge conditions across states. The percentage of roads in acceptable condition used the International Roughness Index (IRI), where lower values mean smoother roads. "Acceptable" means an IRI of 170 or below; roads rated "Good" and "Fair" in 2022 Bureau of Transportation Statistics data met this threshold (15%). For bridges, the analysis counted those scoring at least 5 out of 10. Excellent bridges score 7 or above; poor ones score 4 or below. This rating assessed the driving surface, underlying structure and other components based on 2023 Bureau of Transportation Statistics data (5%).
• Safety (25%) tracks accident and theft rates by state. Fatal car crashes per 100,000 people divided crash fatalities by population per 2022 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data (18.75%). Car thefts per 100,000 vehicles measured theft-related arrests per 100,000 vehicles from the FBI's 2022 Crime Explorer (6.25%).
• Weather (10%) measures how dangerous conditions affect driving. Car fatalities in rainy weather per 100,000 people (5%) and car fatalities in snowy weather per 100,000 people (5%) both came from 2021 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.