Dive Brief:
- Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco and New York City ranked as the U.S. cities with the highest congestion levels in 2025, according to TomTom’s annual traffic index, released today.
- Traffic congestion increased globally last year, but the location technology company rates the United States as the least congested country among 54 studied for the report.
- Cities face an ever-growing number of vehicles on the road, along with e-commerce delivery vehicles, flexible work patterns and more frequent extreme weather events, “adding unprecedented stress” to U.S. transportation systems, according to TomTom.
Dive Insight:
Commuting patterns in the U.S. have changed, TomTom says. “New policies are reshaping traffic patterns in major cities; work-from-home norms continue to stretch and redistribute the traditional rush hour, and climate-driven disasters are increasingly testing the reliability of road networks,” the report states.
Traffic planners now have access to real-time traffic data alongside traditional measures, such as loop detectors and spot traffic counts, to manage roadways more effectively, according to TomTom.
U.S. cities and states all handle traffic congestion differently, the report found, reflecting differences in their geography and infrastructure. Here’s how three U.S. cities and states address growing traffic congestion…