Washington, D.C. and Baltimore both rank among the ten worst cities in the country for drivers, according to a new WalletHub study.
WalletHub’s 2026 “Best & Worst Cities to Drive in” report compared the 100 most populated U.S. cities across 30 metrics related to cost, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance. The study considers each city proper rather than its surrounding metropolitan area.
Washington ranked 99th overall, making it the second-worst city for driving in the study, ahead of only Philadelphia. D.C. received an overall score of 36.36 out of 100 and ranked 73rd for cost of ownership and maintenance, 97th for traffic and infrastructure, 96th for safety, and 61st for access to vehicles and maintenance.
Baltimore ranked 92nd overall with a score of 42.87. The city ranked 50th for cost of ownership and maintenance, 89th for traffic and infrastructure, 97th for safety, and 55th for access to vehicles and maintenance.
Both cities also tied near the bottom nationally for accident likelihood compared with the national average. WalletHub placed Washington and Baltimore in a tie for 97th in that metric, along with Los Angeles and Boston.
WalletHub noted that Americans lose an average of approximately $894 per year from wasted time and fuel associated with traffic congestion. Its analysis incorporates factors including gas prices, annual hours spent in congestion, average commute times, road quality, parking costs, traffic fatalities, car thefts and the availability of auto repair shops.
The ten lowest-ranked cities were San Francisco at No. 91, Baltimore at No. 92, Seattle at No. 93, Oakland at No. 94, Chicago at No. 95, Detroit at No. 96, New York City at No. 97, Los Angeles at No. 98, Washington at No. 99 and Philadelphia at No. 100.
At the other end of the rankings, Scottsdale, Arizona was named the best city for driving, followed by Boise, Idaho; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Corpus Christi, Texas.
WalletHub said the data used for the rankings was collected as of September 8, 2026, using information from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, INRIX, AAA, Federal Highway Administration and WalletHub research.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-to-drive-in/13964
