Arizona cities are among 2016’s Best & Worst Cities for Driving. With gas prices tending to peak during the summer months and Americans collectively losing about $124 billion in wasted time and fuel due just to traffic congestion, the personal-finance website WalletHub went in search of driver-friendly cities.
To identify the most driver-friendly cities in the U.S., WalletHub’s number crunchers compared the 100 most populated cities across 21 key metrics. Their data ranges were from average gas prices to average annual hours of traffic delays to number of auto-repair shops per capita.
While the residents of Scottsdale have known they have it good as far as driving, the residents of Tucson, who struggle with the City’s pothole laden streets, can take heart with the fact that it isn’t as bad as it seems.
| Best Cities for Driving | Worst Cities for Driving | ||||
| 1 | Scottsdale, AZ | 91 | Boston, MA | ||
| 2 | Tucson, AZ | 92 | Seattle, WA | ||
| 3 | Corpus Christi, TX | 93 | New York, NY | ||
| 4 | Gilbert, AZ | 94 | Oakland, CA | ||
| 5 | Mesa, AZ | 95 | Baltimore, MD | ||
| 6 | Chandler, AZ | 96 | Philadelphia, PA | ||
| 7 | Reno, NV | 97 | Chicago, IL | ||
| 8 | Laredo, TX | 98 | San Francisco, CA | ||
| 9 | Las Vegas, NV | 99 | Detroit, MI | ||
| 10 | Tampa, FL | 100 | Washington, DC | ||
With Scottsdale and Tucson leading the list at 1 & 2 Arizona occupied a total of seven spots in the top 15 with phoenix coming in at 13 and Glendale at 15. There were no more Arizona cities in the top 100.
| Overall | City | Total Score | ‘Ownership & Maintenance Costs’ | ‘Traffic Conditions & Infrastructure Quality’ | ‘Auto Safety’ | ‘Auto Availability & Maintenance Accessibility |
| 1 | Scottsdale, AZ | 69.94 | 11 | 3 | 36 | 13 |
| 2 | Tucson, AZ | 68.73 | 8 | 10 | 49 | 16 |
| 4 | Gilbert, AZ | 68.09 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 93 |
| 5 | Mesa, AZ | 68.08 | 16 | 12 | 22 | 44 |
| 6 | Chandler, AZ | 68.07 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 87 |
| 13 | Phoenix, AZ | 65.11 | 17 | 11 | 41 | 71 |
| 15 | Glendale, AZ | 63.81 | 22 | 14 | 43 | 66 |
Best vs. Worst
- Lubbock, Texas, has the fewest average annual hours of traffic delays per car commuter, 12, which is seven times fewer than in Washington, the city with the most, 82.
- Irvine, Calif., has the lowest rate of car thefts per 1,000 residents, 0.52, which is 31 times lower than in Oakland, Calif., the city with the highest, 15.90.
- Orlando, Fla., has the highest number of auto-repair shops per 100,000 residents, 266.16, which is 12 times higher than in Boston, the city with the lowest, 22.51.
- Tulsa, Okla., has the lowest average gas price, $2.04 per gallon, which is 1.5 times lower than in Chicago, the city with the highest, $3.02 per gallon.
- Durham, N.C., has the lowest average parking rate, $2.00 per two hours, which is 12 times lower than in Boston, the city with the highest, $23.79 per two hours.
For the full report and to see where your city ranks, click here.