Chicago 2nd Most Congested City in U.S. in 2019

According to a new report from INRIX, Chicago’s traffic whoas are only getting worse and locals are feeling the pain in both commute times and wasted economic opportunities.

Overall, the data estimates congestion costs every American nearly 100 hours and $1,400 a year. But in Chicago, those figures equaled 145 hours and $2,146 in 2019. Additionally, Boston was the only other city that had a worse congestion problem last year, while Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington DC rounded out the top 5.

As noted by INRIX, Chicago’s geography plays a role in congestion issues. The lake prevents the ability to re-direct traffic around the city to the east, and the cold winters often mean more people take shorter trips in the car once the weather breaks, as opposed to walking or taking another means of transportation.

Last year, Uber and Lyft also released reports that mentioned trips in Chicago spiked 271% between 2015 and 2018, but part of that can also be attributed to the growing popularity in ride sharing and also fewer cabs as well.

Compared to other cities around the globe, Boston and Chicago placed 9th and 10th overall respectively, behind Bogata, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Istanbul, Sao Paulo, Rome, Paris, and London.