BEST & WORST STATES TO DRIVE IN 2020/21
As 2021 is coming close to an end, and before getting the new analysis for this year, let us remind you of the stats for worst and best states for drivers for 2020.
With traffic congestion costing Americans $87 billion in 2018 and the United States ranking 17th in the world in terms of road quality, the personal finance website WalletHub released their analysis on 2020's Best and Worst States to drive in, along with accompanying videos. WalletHub evaluated the 50 states over 31 key indicators to find the top driver-friendly states in the country. The dataset included information on everything from average gas prices, to the percentage of rush-hour traffic congestion, to road quality.
Ranking:
| Best States for Driving |
Worst States for Driving
|
| Iowa | Montana |
| Tennessee | Alaska |
| North Carolina | New Jersey |
| Texas | West Virginia |
| Nebraska | Maryland |
Comparisons: Worst VS Best
Mississippi had the lowest rate of rush-hour traffic congestion (17%), which was five times lower than California, which had the highest rate of 85%.
Mississippi had the lowest average regular gas price, $2.21 per gallon, which was 1.7 times less than Hawaii, where the highest average regular gas price was $3.66 per gallon.
Vermont had the fewest automobile thefts (per 1,000 persons) at 0.40, which was 13.6 times less than Alaska, which had the most with 5.42.
California had 1.529352 auto-repair shops per square root of population, which was 7.2 times more than Hawaii, which had 0.213839 auto-repair shops.
The average car insurance rate in Maine was $84 per year.
Maine had the lowest average vehicle insurance rate of $845, which was 3.1 times less than Michigan, which had the highest rate of $2,611.
Analysis methodology:
WalletHub evaluated the 50 states over four key parameters to assist drivers select the states that offer the best commuting conditions: 1) ownership and maintenance costs, 2) traffic and infrastructure, 3) safety, and 4) vehicle access and upkeep.
31 relevant metrics were used to evaluate those aspects and each statistic was scored on a scale of one to one hundred, with one being the best for drivers.
Finally, a total score was calculated for each state based on a weighted average of all indicators, therefore producing a ranking as shown above.
Although the conclusions are based on cars, truckers can likely agree with these findings, because they share the same routes and highways. Would you say 2021 has brought changes to this list? Did the continuous pandemic crisis affect each state differently? Let’s wait and see what the latest analysis will say.