Surprisingly, LA traffic isn’t as bad as we think—these cities have it worse
Los Angeles traffic is not as bad as commonly believed, ranking 10th in congestion according to the latest Inrix scorecard. Cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia have worse traffic, with New Yorkers losing an average of 125 hours per year compared to 83 for Angelenos. Experts attribute LA's relatively better performance to effective congestion management tools like Express Lanes.
- ▪Los Angeles dropped from 8th to 10th in the Inrix annual congestion ranking.
- ▪New York City drivers lose an average of 125 hours per year in traffic, compared to 83 hours for Los Angeles drivers.
- ▪LA's average congestion speed is 17 MPH, higher than New York's 10 MPH.
- ▪Over 60% of trips in the LA area occur on highways, compared to 34% in New York.
- ▪Express Lanes in LA have helped manage traffic by encouraging drivers to make different travel choices.
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Metro Surprisingly, LA traffic isn’t as bad as we think—these cities have it worse By Corey Moss Published May 1, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET Los Angeles is surprisingly not living up to its reputation for having the worst traffic in the world. There are numerous measures for traffic and LA is not the worst in almost all of them. Inrix, one of the world’s foremost leaders in transportation data and insights, releases an annual scorecard, and in the latest edition, LA dropped from 8th to 10th. “Geography has a lot to do with congestion, how many alternate routes do you have,” Nat Gale, Inrix’s Head of Product, said. “In Southern California, we are blessed with a lot of options.” 7 Traffic moves along the 405 Freeway on February 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. On February 12, 2026.
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