By Dave Bean, Content Editor, FMW
January 17, 2024
Thanks to an exhaustive study by the folks at WalletHub, we can now understand a bit better why some states in the U.S. are considered to be better to drive in than others. Yes, the usual suspects do play key factors here, most of which focus directly on the vehicle itself.
Maintenance, fuel cost and insurance rates are typically among the leading indicators of whether drivers are satisfied with their on-the-road experience within their home state. But digging deeper into the data, WalletHub has determined that traffic congestion, or the lack thereof, can greatly influence whether one is satisfied with their overall driving experience within the state in which they reside.
Road congestion has an impact on how much or how little money you spend sitting in traffic wasting precious fuel, as well as the amount of anxiety you incur by sitting and waiting for a bottleneck to subside. According to the study, American drivers lost nearly $900 each in 2022 just sitting and waiting for traffic to ease.
“When people think about the costs associated with owning a vehicle, things like regular maintenance, insurance and gas typically come to mind. What many people don’t realize is that traffic congestion can also be extremely costly because of the amount of time it wastes, which is why the best states for driving tend to be sparsely populated. Factors like safety and the quality of roads are key, too,” said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst.
Individual characteristics of roads vary widely from state to state. A change in pavement, for better or worse, is usually instantly perceptible, even if you’ve missed the “Welcome to…” state border sign. When designing their study, WalletHub looked at each of the fifty states and considered dozens of significant elements, including the aforementioned road conditions and traffic congestion, as well as the cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance. When the all the figures were tallied, the best states in which to drive were readily identified.
Here are the Top 3 Best States in the U.S. Which to Drive and the Reasons Why:
1) Iowa
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- Rural state
- Low rush-hour volume at peak hours on interstate highways
- Shorter overall commutes
- Low gas prices
- Low insurance rates
- Low incidence of vehicle theft or vandalism
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2) Georgia
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- Most gas stations per capita in U.S.
- Top Ten most alternative fuel stations per capita in U.S.
- Very strict DUI laws
- Cost of vehicle ownership relatively inexpensive, including low maintenance and gas prices
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3) Kansas
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- Road safety including a marked decrease in auto accident deaths
- Low overall rate of drivers who speed
- Well-maintained roads
- Low population with high proportion of farmland means less road congestion
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To read more about WalletHub’s Best & Worst States to Drive in the U.S. study, click here.
