WASHINGTON -- D.C. is one of the worst big cities in the United States for traffic congestion, according to 2018 data released Tuesday from TomTom, a location technology company.
TomTom reports the congestion level was up 1 percent from last year, but Washington stayed the eight worst in the United States.
In 2018, TomTom found D.C. area drivers faced a 28 percent congestion level, meaning drivers typically spent 28 percent more time in the car than an average trip without traffic.
The report focused on weekday peak time congestion, which unsurprisingly added a significant amount travel time. For a 30-minute trip during morning and evening peak times, drivers could expect travel times to spike by 14 and 18 minutes, respectively.
The worst times to travel were during morning and evening rush hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. During the 8 a.m. hour, for example, drivers are likely to face about 50 percent more congestion than usual. The evening rush hour is even worse - for the same days, drivers could face spending anywhere between 64 to 67 percent more time in traffic.
If you're looking to avoid other driver, your best best bet is to travel before 6 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
And for all the hubbub about holiday travel, TomTom actually found that Christmas Day had the lightest traffic last year with just a 3 percent congestion level on average.
Top 10 Worst Congestion in U.S.
- Los Angeles
- New York
- San Franciso
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Miami
- Chicago
- Washington D.C.
- Honolulu
- Atlanta
If you are looking for a change and an escape from the traffic, Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina had the least congestion of the 80 major cities surveyed.
KING5 contributed to this report.