Shockingly, Wyoming Is One of the Top 20 Best States to Drive In
There is often a lot of complaining about drivers in Wyoming, but according to a brand new study, Wyomingites aren't nearly as bad as the majority of the country.
According to the study, which was conducted by personal finance website, WalletHub, the Cowboy State was overall ranked 14th out of all fifty states on "2023’s Best & Worst States to Drive in".
WalletHub went into detail about how each state was ranked, by stating:
Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It makes you late, and causes many people’s tempers to flare up. It’s also quite bad for your wallet – in fact, congestion cost the average U.S. driver $869 in wasted time during 2022, with an average of 51 hours spent sitting in traffic. The U.S. also has eight out of the world’s 25 worst cities for traffic, and 19 of the worst 25 in North America.
Congestion isn’t the only concern on the road, though. People want to know that they will be driving on safe, well-maintained roads before heading out. The U.S. has a fairly good track record in these regards, but certainly doesn’t top the list. For example, the World Economic Forum only places the U.S. at rank 17 of 141 when it comes to road quality.
Road conditions naturally aren’t consistent across the entire country. To identify the states with the most positive driving experiences, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 31 key indicators of a positive commute. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.
Here are some of the key metrics and how Wyoming ranked on each:
- Cost of Ownership & Maintenance - 4th
- Auto Maintenance Cost - 5th
- Traffic & Infrastructure - 10th
- Safety - 41st
- Access to Vehicles & Maintenance - 48th
As you can see from the study, Wyoming shined in certain categories, but were near the bottom of the barrel at others (with "safety" being a key metric that obviously needs work).
There's always room for improvement, but it was still nice to see Wyoming near the top of the pack.