North Carolina Is 2022’s 4th Best State to Drive in

By
Steve
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475

With traffic congestion costing U.S. drivers an average of 36 hours and $564 during 2021, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst States to Drive in.

To determine the most driver-friendly states in the U.S., the site compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.

Driving in North Carolina (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

  • 23rd – Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion
  • 20th – Car Theft Rate
  • 9th – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita
  • 17th – Avg. Gas Prices
  • 7th – Auto-Maintenance Costs
  • 21st – Road Quality
  • 10th – Car Dealerships per Capita

Best & Worst Driving States

Overall Rank  State Total Score  Cost of Ownership & Maintenance  Traffic & Infrastructure  Safety  Access to Vehicles & Maintenance 
1 Iowa 62.04 5 7 38 22
2 Oklahoma 61.65 4 9 34 27
3 Kansas 61.51 12 4 36 32
4 North Carolina 61.27 7 29 23 10
5 Texas 60.57 25 41 14 4
6 Georgia 60.04 8 39 27 8
7 Wisconsin 60.03 3 19 37 20
8 Tennessee 60.02 1 26 41 21
9 Illinois 59.71 34 36 6 5
10 Indiana 59.46 14 22 31 17
11 Nebraska 59.46 16 6 35 33
12 Kentucky 59.42 6 23 26 31
13 Ohio 59.27 2 31 39 7
14 Virginia 58.45 9 40 29 13
15 Alaska 58.34 27 14 5 50
16 Alabama 58.25 10 16 40 26
17 Idaho 58.21 29 5 21 43
18 New York 57.82 42 46 3 2
19 North Dakota 57.80 22 1 45 47
20 Maine 57.73 24 17 16 37
21 West Virginia 57.25 11 20 32 44
22 Florida 56.71 31 44 17 3
23 South Dakota 56.65 18 11 44 38
24 Arkansas 56.35 21 10 42 34
25 Arizona 55.98 32 21 15 25
26 Utah 55.65 30 18 22 29
27 Vermont 55.62 33 24 8 40
28 New Mexico 55.60 28 3 43 42
29 Mississippi 55.41 17 12 47 35
30 Louisiana 55.24 35 25 12 30
31 Minnesota 55.11 26 32 25 19
32 Pennsylvania 54.68 38 33 28 6
33 South Carolina 54.62 13 27 46 28
34 New Hampshire 54.49 19 45 13 41
35 Oregon 54.41 44 13 18 23
36 Montana 53.95 20 2 50 45
37 Massachusetts 53.75 41 49 2 9
38 New Jersey 53.75 36 48 4 12
39 Connecticut 53.30 46 34 1 24
40 Nevada 53.11 45 15 10 39
41 Wyoming 52.31 15 8 48 48
42 Missouri 51.47 23 28 49 15
43 Michigan 51.40 43 30 30 11
44 Colorado 50.85 40 38 33 16
45 Washington 49.34 48 37 20 14
46 Maryland 48.54 37 50 19 18
47 California 48.00 50 42 9 1
48 Delaware 48.00 39 35 24 49
49 Rhode Island 47.41 47 47 7 46
50 Hawaii 41.02 49 43 11 36

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric.

Do you agree with the ranking?