The District has long been plagued with terrible traffic; in fact, it was even ranked as the #3 worst city to drive in America just a few months ago!
Now, what’s been locally known for years is backed by even more evidence, this time, on a global scale!
How does Washington, D.C.’s traffic rank globally?
According to the 2025 ‘Global Traffic Scorecard’, the District ranked as the #19 worst metropolitan area for traffic in the world!
The scorecard found that the average Washingtonian would lose around 70 hours sitting in traffic this year, simply as a result of the congestion that the District experiences daily.
However, as a promising sign for the future of the District’s traffic troubles, the report also highlighted that ‘micromobility’ (think shared scooters, bikes, etc.) grew by nearly 48% over the past year.
This shows that more and more Washingtonians are turning to alternative methods of transportation for short trips around the city, rather than resorting to using a car, which in turn may lead to long-term alleviation of some of the District’s traffic.
How does Washington, D.C.’s traffic rank in the United States?
The 2025 ‘Global Traffic Scorecard’ had the District and its surrounding area ranked as the #9th worst city for traffic in the nation!
Though we have to say we were a little surprised, given that the District’s infamous traffic has long been considered one of the very worst in the nation, we like to think that could be a sign that traffic condition around the District might be slowly improving.
Here are the cities around the United States that ranked among the top 10:
- Chicago
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Los Angeles
- Boston
- Miami
- Atlanta
- Houston
- Washington, D.C.
- Seattle
D.C. traffic stats
Here are the stats from the 2025 edition of the Global Traffic Scorecard that pertain to the District’s metropolitan area:
- Hours lost to congestion – 70
- Change in traffic from 2024 – 6%
- Change in traffic from 2023 – 13%
- Last mile speed – 11 mph