Traffic congestion is measured in several ways: extra travel time versus free flow, money assigned to that lost time, slower average speeds, and congestion rates. The 2024 figures below show how those measures differ across the United States, the United Kingdom and cities worldwide.
Key Traffic Congestion Statistics
The most broadly useful 2024 traffic congestion statistics are:
- In 2024, U.S. drivers lost an average of 43 hours to congestion across the United States.
- In 2024, U.S. congestion represented an estimated $74 billion in lost time nationwide.
- In 2024, the average U.S. congestion cost was estimated at $771 per driver.
- In 2024, more than 4 billion hours were lost to congestion by U.S. drivers.
- Between 2023 and 2024, nine of the 10 largest U.S. metros increased trips into their city cores.
- In 2024, New York City drivers lost 102 hours and $1,826 per driver to congestion.
- In 2024, Chicago drivers lost 102 hours and $1,826 per driver to congestion.
- In 2024, Los Angeles drivers lost 88 hours and $1,575 per driver to congestion.
- In 2024, the I-95 southbound Stamford corridor lost 151 annual hours in the cited peak-hour estimate.
- In 2024, the average U.K. driver lost 62 hours and £581 in time costs.
- In 2024, U.K. congestion was estimated to cost £7.7 billion.
- In 2024, London drivers lost 101 hours and £942 per driver, with London accounting for approximately half of U.K. traffic delay.
- In 2024, Istanbul ranked first globally with 105 hours lost per driver.
- In 2024, Jakarta recorded 89 hours lost per driver, up 37% from 2023.
- In 2024, 379 of 500 cities in the TomTom index saw overall average speed decrease compared with 2023.
- In 2024, Mexico City’s congestion rate was 52%, meaning journeys were 52% longer than under free-flow conditions.
- In 2024, TomTom analyzed more than 700 billion kilometers driven across its index coverage.
Contents
- U.S. traffic congestion statistics: national time and economic cost
- U.S. city traffic congestion data by delay, cost and speed
- Traffic congestion trends on major U.S. corridors
- U.K. traffic congestion statistics by city and cost
- Global traffic congestion statistics and city comparisons
- Traffic congestion trends, travel speeds and measurement context
U.S. Traffic Congestion Statistics: National Time and Economic Cost
INRIX estimates congestion as the difference between peak-period travel time and free-flow travel time, calculated per driver for major employment-center commuting patterns. For 2024, the national estimate was 43 hours lost per driver, with a modeled value of $771 per driver and more than 4 billion hours lost collectively.
| U.S. measure | 2024 estimate | Scope and unit |
|---|---|---|
| Time lost per driver | 43 hours | United States, hours per driver |
| Cost per driver | $771 | United States, modeled USD per driver |
| Total time lost | More than 4 billion hours | United States, aggregate |
| National cost | $74 billion | United States, modeled lost-time value |
These costs are estimates based on value of time, not direct cash charges paid by drivers. The same INRIX analysis found that trips into the city cores of nine of the 10 largest U.S. metros increased between 2023 and 2024.
Downtown travel also changed by time of day. Saturday nighttime downtown trips rose 12.5% year over year, while Sunday nighttime trips rose 12.7%, according to the INRIX downtown trip analysis.
U.S. City Traffic Congestion Data by Delay, Cost and Speed
The city figures combine modeled hours lost, modeled cost per driver and, where supplied, downtown speed. They are urban-area estimates and should not be read as identical to a single downtown road measurement.
| City | Hours lost per driver | Cost per driver | Downtown speed or trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | 102 | $1,826 | 13 mph |
| Chicago | 102 | $1,826 | 14 mph |
| Los Angeles | 88 | $1,575 | 22 mph |
| Boston | 79 | $1,414 | 13 mph |
| Philadelphia | 77 | $1,378 | Delay up 12% |
| Miami | 74 | $1,325 | Delay up 6% |
| Houston | 66 | $1,181 | Delay up 6% |
| Atlanta | 65 | $1,164 | Delay up 7% |
| Seattle | 63 | $1,128 | Delay up 9% |
| Washington, D.C. | 62 | $1,110 | Delay down 2% |
New York City and Chicago each reached 102 lost hours per driver in 2024, while their downtown speeds were 13 mph and 14 mph respectively. Los Angeles combined 88 lost hours with a higher cited downtown speed of 22 mph, illustrating why delay and absolute speed are different measures.
Philadelphia had the largest cited city-level increase in this table at 12%, while Washington, D.C. was the only listed city with a decline, down 2% year over year. Denver had the largest increase among the cited U.S. congestion leaders, with delay up 19% from 2023.
Traffic Congestion Trends on Major U.S. Corridors
Corridor estimates show how a national or city average can translate into a repeated peak-hour burden on a named road segment.
| Corridor | Peak-hour loss | Annual loss | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-95 southbound, Stamford | 38 minutes | 151 hours | Westport to Indian Field Road, 2024 |
| I-93 southbound, Boston | 27 minutes | 109 hours | Charles River to Pilgrim’s Highway, 2024 |
| US-80 eastbound, Dallas | 22 minutes | 88 hours | I-635 to Forney, Texas, 2024 |
| I-278 westbound, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway | 21 minutes | 85 hours | I-495 interchange to Tillary Street, 2024 |
The peak-hour figures are INRIX estimates for the listed peak hour, while annual losses represent the corresponding corridor estimate for 2024. They are not a universal average for every driver using the road.
U.K. Traffic Congestion Statistics by City and Cost
In the United Kingdom, INRIX estimated that the average driver lost 62 hours to congestion in 2024, with a modeled time cost of £581 per driver. The national estimate was £7.7 billion, £200 million more than in 2023.
| U.K. location | Hours lost per driver | Cost per driver | Additional measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 101 | £942 | Total cost £3.85 billion; delay up 2% |
| Bristol | 65 | £606 | Downtown speed 17 mph |
| Manchester | 61 | £570 | Delay up 13% |
| Leeds | 60 | £560 | Downtown speed 19 mph |
| Birmingham | 54 | £504 | Delay down 10% |
| Sheffield | 53 | Not supplied | Hours lost per driver |
| Edinburgh | 53 | Not supplied | Hours lost per driver |
London accounted for approximately 50% of all U.K. traffic delay in the 2024 estimate. Its most congested cited corridor, the A40 westbound from the A320 to the A406, caused 17 extra peak-hour minutes and 68 annual hours lost at the 5 PM peak.
The busiest cited Bristol corridor, the A420 eastbound from Lawrence Hill Roundabout to Hollow Road, caused five extra minutes per weekday and 21 annual hours lost at the 4 PM weekday peak. Both corridor figures are location-specific estimates, not national averages.
Global Traffic Congestion Statistics and City Comparisons
The global INRIX comparison places several cities close together in lost hours, but the reported year-over-year changes differ sharply.
| Global position or city | Hours lost per driver in 2024 | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Istanbul, Turkey | 105 | Up 15% |
| New York City | 102 | Up 1% |
| Chicago | 102 | Up 6% |
| Mexico City, Mexico | 97 | Up 1% |
| Paris, France | 97 | No change |
| Cape Town, South Africa | 94 | Up 13% |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 89 | Up 37% |
| Los Angeles | 88 | Down 1% |
| Brisbane, Australia | 84 | Up 14% |
| Dublin, Ireland | 81 | Up 13% |
The ranking is an INRIX global urban-area comparison using its own boundaries, probe data and definition of delay. For example, Jakarta’s 37% increase and Los Angeles’s 1% decrease describe changes within that measurement system, not a universal measure of every journey.
Traffic Congestion Trends, Travel Speeds and Measurement Context
TomTom reports a different set of measures from INRIX. Its 2024 Traffic Index covered 500 cities across 62 countries and six continents, and analyzed more than 700 billion kilometers driven; another methodology description refers to a representative sample covering 458 billion miles driven.
TomTom found that 379 of 500 cities, or 76%, saw overall average speed decrease in 2024 versus 2023. Average speed is distinct from congestion rate because static road and city-design factors can affect absolute speed, while the congestion rate measures dynamic speed loss relative to free-flow conditions.
Several TomTom observations clarify the difference:
- Barranquilla had the lowest cited 2024 average speed at 16.6 km/h, taking more than 36 minutes for a 10-km trip.
- Mexico City’s 2024 congestion rate was 52%, meaning journeys were 52% longer than under free-flow conditions.
- Lima and Dublin each showed 150 hours lost in rush-hour traffic jams under TomTom’s cited typical 10-km commute pattern, made every working day morning and evening.
Sources: TomTom Traffic Index 2025: TomTom unveils data-driven insights from over 700 billion kilometers driven in 2024 and Annual TomTom Traffic Index: Unveiling data-driven insights from over 450 billion miles driven in 2024.
Finally, FHWA’s Quarterly Urban Congestion Reports cover 54 U.S. urban areas. The official program uses NPMRDS vehicle-probe travel times and HPMS volume weighting, with comparisons based on quarterly year-over-year windows; its coverage is therefore not every U.S. locality and should not be merged directly with INRIX or TomTom rankings.
Source: Quarterly Urban Congestion Reports.