North Carolina Ranked As #1 State In America for Summer Road Trips

22950

As gas hovers around its lowest level in decades and temperatures remain moderate, this summer is shaping up to be the perfect time for road trips.

If you live in North Carolina, this is especially good news, as our state has just been ranked the #1 best state in America for Summer road trips, according to WalleHub (up from #2 last year).

The site compared all 50 states across three key dimensions; costs, safety, and activities, using 22 relevant metrics.

The Tar Heel state received a combined score of 57.57, landing us at the number 1 spot, just behind Wyoming and Minnesota;

Overall Rank
(1 = Best)
State Total Score ‘Costs’ Rank ‘Safety’ Rank ‘Activities’ Rank
1 North Carolina 57.57 9 30 8
2 Wyoming 57.26 1 19 20
3 Minnesota 56.95 25 3 19
4 Virginia 56.52 16 12 16
5 Texas 56.52 4 42 7
6 New York 55.44 48 4 2
7 Louisiana 55.29 2 40 11
8 Oregon 55.14 39 10 6
9 Utah 55.02 22 18 12
10 Wisconsin 54.70 8 8 31
11 Washington 53.45 45 20 4
12 Maine 52.96 32 2 26
13 Michigan 52.93 18 15 28
14 Ohio 52.65 29 22 13
15 Pennsylvania 52.47 43 11 9
16 Massachusetts 50.64 41 7 24
17 Illinois 50.37 38 13 22
18 Nebraska 50.08 15 14 38
19 Florida 50.05 31 50 3
20 Iowa 50.02 23 5 40
21 South Dakota 49.67 11 25 34
22 Georgia 49.57 20 33 27
23 Idaho 49.48 44 9 23
24 South Carolina 49.31 5 49 25
25 Colorado 49.20 35 35 10
26 Oklahoma 49.03 6 34 36
27 New Hampshire 48.74 30 6 37
28 Maryland 48.36 40 31 14
29 Vermont 48.26 28 1 50
30 Nevada 48.18 34 32 18
31 New Jersey 47.68 36 21 30
32 Tennessee 47.65 12 43 32
33 California 47.39 50 37 1
34 Missouri 47.37 13 45 29
35 New Mexico 47.28 14 48 21
36 West Virginia 46.97 7 29 47
37 Arizona 46.96 24 47 15
38 Alaska 46.60 46 46 5
39 Kentucky 46.45 26 26 35
40 North Dakota 46.03 17 17 44
41 Montana 45.20 21 38 33
42 Alabama 44.31 3 44 39
43 Mississippi 43.65 10 41 43
44 Kansas 43.54 27 27 45
45 Indiana 43.12 33 24 42
46 Arkansas 43.07 19 39 41
47 Hawaii 42.63 49 28 17
48 Connecticut 39.41 47 16 46
49 Delaware 39.05 37 36 48
50 Rhode Island 39.02 42 23 49

One of North Carolina’s biggest ranking boosts was in the ‘scenic byways’ category – the Blue Ridge Parkway and our Outer Banks simply can’t be matched (check out the ‘Backroads of North Carolina Guide‘ to plan the ultimate scenic trip).

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

  • 23rd – Number of Attractions
  • 4th – Lowest Price of Three-Star Hotel Room
  • 12th – Avg. Gas Prices
  • 20th – Nightlife Options per Capita
  • 13th – Car Thefts per Capita
  • 4th – Access to Scenic Byways
  • 18th – Lowest Price of Camping
  • 7th – Driving Laws Rating
  • 28th – Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled

Do you agree with the results? 

Comments

comments