America's Worst City To Drive In Is An East Coast Hotspot (And It Isn't NYC Or Boston)

If you watch car commercials, they're usually a single person in a vehicle, whizzing down an open road, with breathtaking scenery around them. However, the reality of driving in major cities is far different. Instead of beautiful vistas, you'll find traffic, potholes, and people trying to cut you off — and some major cities are worse than others. While you may think the worst city for driving is New York, Boston, Chicago, or Los Angeles, you'd be wrong, according to a 2025 report from WalletHub. Out of 100 major cities in the United States, the worst city to drive in is, in fact, the City of Brotherly Love, aka Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Add in the rising gas prices in the U.S., and you may be considering skipping the rental car and taking public transportation during a visit to Philadelphia instead.

Residents in Reddit's r/philadelphia seem to agree. In one thread about the drivers in the city, one commenter says, "Philly drivers are my #1 complaint about the city too. That hasn't changed in my seven years of living here." They cited people driving through red lights, the use of hazard lights to excuse bad driving, and passing people by using the opposing lane. However, the WalletHub ranking isn't just about the bad driving habits of residents and visitors. There is more to the story, including traffic, access to repair shops, and safety.

The WalletHub study reports that, in 2025, the average driver in the United States ended up shelling out around $771 per year due to wasted fuel and time in traffic, making this ranking even more important to consider. To determine the overall ranking, the site looked at several categories, giving the cities individual scores in each one. While Philadelphia ranked No. 100 out of 100 overall, it came in 85th place for cost of ownership and maintenance, 97th for traffic and infrastructure, 96th for safety, and 76th for access to vehicles and maintenance. The report also considered driver friendliness and average gas prices, as well as the number of hours in traffic per year. (To compare the results with other East Coast cities, Boston ranked No. 87 overall, while New York City was closer to the bottom, in 97th place.)

That doesn't mean every traveler is going to skip renting a car. To that end, there are a few things to keep in mind. Be prepared for other drivers to break the rules, including merely slowing down for stop signs, and putting chairs on the street to save their parking space. It's also important to stay calm and not get into arguments, or even throw angry faces at other drivers. There were nearly 2,200 aggressive driving crashes in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties in 2025, according to PennDOT – and you surely don't want to become a statistic. Additionally, if you do choose to drive while in the city, make sure to keep your phone in your pocket or purse. Pennsylvania is cracking down on distracted driving and issuing fines to rule breakers.

Philadelphia has some of the most iconic landmarks in the U.S., including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and, yes, even the Rocky Statue. However, you may want to skip the car and take public transportation to see them. The main public transportation in Philly comes from SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority), serving the greater Philadelphia area. SEPTA covers, according to the organization's website, "regional rail, buses, trolleys, subways and a high-speed line." In fact, it's the sixth-largest transit system in the U.S. At the time of this writing, pay-per-ride fares are $2.90 for bus and metro rides, and between $5 and $13 for regional rail rides. There is even a page on the site where you can find the best public transportation routes for major destinations in the city.

If you're traveling to Philly, you can take Amtrak's high-speed Acela from Boston; New York; Baltimore; or Washington, D.C., right to downtown's William H. Gray III 30th Street Station. You can also do some walking to see the sights if you're centrally located. In fact, WalkScore gave Philadelphia a walkability score of 74.8 out of 100.

In case you're wondering about WalletHub's best cities for driving, the top five are, from lowest to highest, Laredo, Texas; Scottsdale, Arizona; Boise, Idaho; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Corpus Christi, Texas, in first place. Finally, while you're visiting Philadelphia, it's worth taking a short trip outside the city to the Valley Forge National Historic Park.