Best, worst states to drive in revealed in new study

August 24, 2023

Stick to the boardwalk.

New Jersey is the worst state to drive in, as it has the highest road congestion nationwide and the second-worst road quality, a new study by MoneyGeek finds.

Researchers considered traffic, transportation costs, safety, road infrastructure and weather in its rankings, released last month.

New York fared slightly better than the Garden State, earning the title of the 16th worst state to drive in.

Nebraska was named the best state, thanks to the lowest vehicle-related costs nationwide and its infrastructure quality.

Cars a highway busy. — New Jersey is the worst state to drive in, as it has the highest road congestion nationwide and the second-worst road quality.

Cars on a highway. — New York fared slightly better than the Garden State, earning the title of the 16th worst state to drive in.

MoneyGeek crunched data from the Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, US Census Bureau, FBI and more to devise its lists.

Researchers looked at five factors:

Cost: Gas prices per gallon, annual car maintenance costs and annual toll expenses per vehicle comprise this category, as well as average annual premiums from the cheapest full coverage auto insurance options available in each state.
Congestion: Factors include average morning commute times and vehicle miles traveled per lane mile, which measures how many vehicles are using a particular length of road over a certain period of time.
Safety: MoneyGeek analyzed fatal crashes per 100,000 people and car thefts per 100,000 vehicles.
Infrastructure: This category considers the percentage of roads and bridges that are in acceptable condition in each state.
Weather: MoneyGeek analyzed fatal car crashes per 100,000 people in snowy and rainy conditions.

Top 10 best states to drive in