State's Driving Rank

According to a report released January 15th by WalletHub, North Carolina has received the rank of 6th best state in which to drive. The report, ‘2024 Best and Worst States to Drive In’ study looked at a variety of metrics and then ranked each state individually from 1 to 50. The study was done by WalletHub as a way to analyze the ways in which driving impacts our pocketbook. For example, congestion cost the average driver $869 in 2022, thanks to an average of 51 hours spent sitting in traffic.

There were 31 metrics to which each state was held, some of which included average gas prices, rush-hour congestion, and road quality. While scores ran the gamut, all the results were then weighted to receive their overall rank. 

The breakdown for North Carolina was as follows:

• 23rd – Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion
• 18th – Car Theft Rate
• 7th – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita
• 19th – Avg. Gas Prices
• 5th – Auto-Maintenance Costs
• 18th – Road Quality
• 10th – Car Dealerships per Capita

This gave North Carolina an overall ranking of No. 6, sandwiched between Alabama at No. 5 and Ohio at No. 7. 

Landing in the middle of the pack was our neighbor, South Carolina, coming in at No. 30. The overall winner was Iowa at No. 1 and the worst state in which to drive was decided to be Hawaii. 

Do you think WalletHub got it right by putting North Carolina in such a high position? Tell us in the comments… what is your commute like?