Florida Ranked Among Top 25 Best States for Road Trips

By ETHAN LEVINE (Patch Staff)

Road trips are as big a part of summer culture as burgers on the grill or a dip in the pool.

A whopping 85 percent of Americans will plan a trip this summer, and close to 90 percent of those trips will be by car.

With this in mind, popular personal finance site WalletHub released its rankings of the 2015 Best & Worst States for Summer Road Trips.

WalletHub used more than 20 metrics to help determine its rankings, but ultimately the rankings boiled down to three main criteria: Driving and lodging costs (including the cost of gas), road conditions and safety, and fun and scenic attractions.

So where does Florida rank on this list? Despite its sunny weather and sandy beaches, Florida fell all the way to No. 23 on this list, one spot ahead of Virginia and one spot behind New Mexico.

Florida can blame its roads for its fall in the rankings. The state ranks 9th in fun and scenic attractions and 24th in driving and lodging costs. However, it ranks 43rd (eighth-worst) in road safety and conditions, causing the state to nearly fall out of the top half of the list.

And although it did crack the top 25, Florida was actually out-ranked by many of its border states. Georgia finished 13th in the master rankings, while Alabama finished close behind at No. 29.

For Floridians looking to plan a road trip outside the state, be prepared to drive for a while. Many of the states in WalletHub’s top 10 are located on the Western half of the United States.

The top 10 is as follows:

1. Oregon
2. Nevada
3. Minnesota
4. Washington
5. Ohio
6. Utah
7. Wyoming
8. Colorado
9. North Carolina
10. Idaho

And for those who are curious, the bottom 5 are: South Dakota, Mississippi, Delaware, North Dakota and Connecticut.