Here’s How Traffic In Baltimore Ranks Nationwide

BALTIMORE, MD — A new report shows what drivers in the Baltimore metro area already know. They are sitting in traffic in one of the most congested urban areas in the United States. It is also among the top 50 cities for traffic in the world.

INRIX, an analytical data company that examines traffic patterns, recently published its annual study of the most-congested cities around the globe.

Baltimore ranked in the top 10 in the United States, according to the 2019 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, which examined more than 975 cities across the world. Charm City is No. 46 worldwide.

Baltimore drivers average 10 mph in the last mile of their trip, according to the report.

Commuters in Baltimore lose an average of 84 hours and $1,243 per driver to traffic congestion each year, the report says.

But Boston, which topped INRIX’s American rankings for the second straight year, has it worst, with congestion in 2019 costing city residents an average of 149 hours and $2,205 per driver.

Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C., round out the worst five U.S. cities for congestion in the rankings. At the other end of the traffic spectrum, Wichita, Kansas, tops the study for the least amount of congestion for a city in the United States.

INRIX determined the rankings by using observed trips to identify the most-frequented routes and destinations within a region. INRIX then calculated the additional time it would take to travel those routes with traffic and delays.

To read more about the methodology, see the full report on the global traffic scorecard.

Bogota, Colombia, is the worst city in the world for traffic congestion, according to the report, which found drivers there spend 191 hours in traffic on average in a year.

Here are the nation’s 10 most congested urban areas, according to INRIX, along with their worldwide rank. See the full scorecard here.

1. Boston (9)
2. Chicago (10)
3. Philadelphia (12)
4. New York City (14)
5. Washington, D.C. (21)
6. Los Angeles (26)
7. San Francisco (30)
8. Portland, Oregon (43)
9. Baltimore (46)
10. Atlanta (47)

— By Gus Saltonstall and Elizabeth Janney