Congestion is climbing almost everywhere, except in three standout cities rewriting the rules of urban movement, according to the INRIX 2025 Global Traffic Scorecard.
Of the 290 US cities analyzed, congestion increased in 88% of them. However, congestion in London, Paris, and New York City remained at current levels or even decreased.
Chicago (112 hours lost), New York City (102 hours), Philadelphia (101 hours), Los Angeles (87 hours) and Boston (83 hours) are the most congested cities in the United States, costing drivers $2,063 each in Chicago alone. Amidst increasing delays in urban areas across the globe, congestion levels in New York City remained flat in 2025. The city’s new congestion pricing policy is a likely factor in its control of traffic congestion.
Overall, however, US cities experienced increasing traffic congestion in 2025. Congestion increased in 254 of the 290 cities analyzed, as travel returned to pre-COVID congestion levels. The percentage of people commuting by car is nearly back to 2019 levels. Public transit, however, has not made the same recovery and is down 22% from 2019.
More than three-fourths of people in US cities commute by car, significantly outweighing other modes of commuting and work. Just 13% of people work from home, 4% take public transit, and 5% rely on other modes like taxis, walking, and cycling.
Where people are working is stabilizing. In 2023 and 2024, fewer people worked from home as businesses and organizations increasingly brought employees back into the office, often in urban areas, a factor in travel returning to pre-COVID levels. This return to the office slowed significantly in 2025, dropping by only 2%, indicating that shifts in working environments and habits have stabilized.
Beyond growing travel demand, structural factors are intensifying congestion pressures. Rising housing costs are pushing many workers farther from job centers, contributing to the rise of so‑called "super commutes."
In cities where affordability is lowest, residents face a difficult tradeoff between longer travel times and higher rents, adding strain to regional road networks. At the same time, billions in infrastructure spending have struggled to keep pace with demand. Aging bridges, major construction corridors, and delayed upgrades continue to amplify delays, particularly in fast‑growing metro areas.
2025 brought one of the few bright spots in US mobility: Traffic fatalities declined, returning to pre-COVID levels after spiking for four years. While this is welcome news, fatality rates in the US remain significantly higher than those in the UK and Germany, a reminder that Vision Zero goals for 2030 remain challenging.
Micromobility and Driverless Tech: Two Growth Forces to Watch
Across several US cities, micromobility saw meaningful adoption, driven not just by demand but by cities expanding fleets and introducing new vehicle types like seated scooters and throttle-only e-bikes. Seattle and Washington, DC, are among those seeing notable quarter-over-quarter growth.
Meanwhile, autonomous vehicles are entering a new phase. Waymo expanded its service onto freeways in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and launched paid robotaxi service in Florida and Texas. As congestion intensifies and safety remains a priority, interest in automated vehicle technologies, from driverless taxis to automated braking, continues to grow.
Finally, the World Cup is coming to US cities in 2026. With the games will come massive amounts of traffic and fans from across the globe, unaccustomed to those cities’ transportation systems. US cities, particularly Los Angeles, are already planning for the influx of traffic and commuters. The World Cup games will be a true test of how well cities are able to address congestion.
