Urban congestion in the U.S. continues to rise, even as the country remains among the least congested globally. The 15th annual TomTom Traffic Index, based on 2025 mobility data, shows that American drivers experienced higher congestion levels year over year, with major metro areas once again shouldering the biggest delays.
While the United States ranked 54th worldwide with an average congestion level of 19%, congestion inside U.S. cities increased by four percentage points compared to the prior year. For fleets operating in dense metros, the story isn’t about national averages. It’s about where delays stack up, when they hit hardest, and how long drivers are stuck in them.
Los Angeles Tops Congestion List, New York Still the Slowest City
Los Angeles ranked as the most congested city in the U.S. in 2025, posting an average congestion level of nearly 60%. Honolulu and San Francisco followed closely behind.
New York City, meanwhile, held onto its title as the slowest city in America for the second consecutive year. Based on a six-mile commute during peak hours, drivers in New York lost an average of 120 hours to traffic in 2025. Los Angeles drivers weren’t far behind, losing 80 hours annually.
Atlanta recorded the largest year-over-year increase in congestion among the top 10 cities, while Boston saw a notable decline.
Top 10 U.S. Cities with the Highest Congestion Levels (2025)
*Based on a 6-mile commute during morning and evening peak hours.
Congestion Is Rising, Even Without a Traditional Rush Hour
One of the clearest takeaways from the 2025 data is that congestion is no longer confined to predictable commute windows. Morning traffic is less concentrated between 7–9 a.m., spilling later into the morning, while evening congestion now builds earlier and lingers longer, from mid-afternoon through early evening.
Tuesday through Thursday emerged as the most congested weekdays, reflecting hybrid work schedules that cluster in-office days midweek. Tech-heavy metros like San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and Denver showed the most pronounced midweek surges, while many other large metros exceeded pre-2019 congestion levels, especially during evening hours.
For fleets, that shift matters. A flatter but longer peak means more exposure to delays across delivery windows, service routes, and driver schedules.
Congestion Pricing Shows Measurable Impact in New York
Although New York City’s overall congestion level remained flat year over year, TomTom data points to measurable improvements tied to the city’s first year of congestion pricing.
Major corridors saw congestion drop by four percentage points, with sharper declines in Brooklyn and Jersey City. Bridge performance improved citywide, and peak-period traffic eased during late morning and afternoon hours. New York City DOT also reported safety improvements inside the congestion zone, including fewer crashes and injuries.
For fleet operators, the takeaway isn’t just fewer delays on specific routes. It’s early evidence that policy-driven traffic management can influence reliability on core access corridors.
Extreme Weather Adds a New Layer of Risk
Weather-related disruptions continued to play an increasingly significant role in U.S. congestion. According to the report, weather now accounts for 15% of non-recurring congestion nationwide. Events like floods in California, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest caused sudden speed drops, prolonged detours, and lingering impacts well beyond the disaster window.
In Texas, congestion surged more than 20% during summer flooding events, with average speeds still trailing the prior year months later. For fleets, that points to a bigger challenge than one bad day. Infrastructure damage and slow recovery can reshape routes and timelines long after storms pass.
Top Four U.S. Cities with the Slowest Average Speeds in 2025
TomTom ranks New York as the slowest in the U.S., followed by San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Honolulu. Metrics below reflect city center results for 2025.
What the 2025 Traffic Index Means for Fleets
The 2025 TomTom Traffic Index reinforces a familiar reality for U.S. fleet managers. Congestion isn’t just increasing, it’s spreading across more hours of the day and becoming less predictable. Add in policy changes, hybrid work patterns, and extreme weather, and route planning is now a moving target.
Access to real-time traffic data, adaptive routing tools, and flexible scheduling strategies is becoming less of a nice-to-have and more of a baseline requirement for fleets operating in urban environments.
The full TomTom Traffic Index, including city-level and hourly data, is available at TomTom’s Traffic Index website.
