Seattle Area Traffic Ranked Among Worst On Earth

KIRKLAND, WA - Unless you're one of the lucky few who commutes via biking, walking, or light rail, maddening traffic jams are probably a regular feature of your life. And living in the Puget Sound area, our traffic is among the most maddening in the world.

INRIX, the Kirkland-based traffic data company, has released its annual traffic scorecard. Seattle came in No. 20 for traffic congestion on a list of the 25 largest cities on Earth, beating out much bigger cities like Saint Petersburg and Rio de Janeiro.

In North America, Seattle ranks 9th worst, and Tacoma is 18th worst, according to INRIX. In 2017, the average driver spent 55 hours sitting in congestion, and 12 percent of all driving time was spent in congestion. Tacoma was not much better with drivers spending 41 hours in traffic in 2017 and 11 percent of all driving time.

Here's where other cities in Washington rank:

*This ranking reflects a city's overall position out of all cities on Earth. Seattle ranks No. 20 among just large cities.

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