One of the Worst and Best Driving Cities in America Are in New York

A surprising report claims one of America's best cities to drive in is located in Upstate New York.

The Empire State has a very strong and negative reputation about its drivers. And while there are cities deserving of the stereotype, they unfortunately paint a misleading picture for the rest of the state.

As some surveys have found, New Yorkers are fairly competent behind the wheel.

Read More: New York Ranks as the #1 Safest State for Teen Drivers 

This is further backed up by a recent survey by WalletHub, which determined the nation's 100 safest and most dangerous driving cities of 2024.

One city from Upstate New York ranked among the best while another was found among the top 10 worst.

The latter, unsurprisingly, was New York City. The Big Apple was ranked the 7th worst driving city in the country because it came dead last in several important categories.

NYC scored poorly due to its drivers spending the most time stuck in congestion, tying with Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago.

The city also was found to have the fewest auto repair shops per capita, the second-highest parking rates, and the worst traffic & infrastructure in the nation.

The sad thing about New York City is that it is so very different from the rest of the state, yet it tends to be what drives our national reputation. We all can safely say that driving in NYC is nothing like driving in Utica, Rochester, or Buffalo.

Speaking of the latter and proving my point, Buffalo ranked as one of America's safest cities for drivers.

The City of Light ranked 30th overall.

It had the 12th lowest ownership and maintenance costs in the country and was ranked among cities with the best safety ranks; coming in 46th.

What negatively impacted Buffalo's score was on the strange side. It was found to have the most days with precipitation, with WalletHub finding it receives 6 times more of the wet stuff than Las Vegas, which was found to have the lowest levels.

For those wanting to look at all the categories and compare all 100 states from best to worst, check out the interactive map below.

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