For many folks in Nashville, the daily trek to work feels like an uphill battle, navigating through packed roads to reach their destinations. A recent study by Forbes Home dug into the commuting struggles of Americans across the nation’s top 25 cities, and the findings were a tough pill to swallow for Nashvillians.
According to the study, Nashville clinched the title for the worst commute in the U.S. Researchers sifted through data from the 2021 U.S. Census and WalkScore.com to gauge the severity of commuting challenges. They looked at factors like average commute time, access to public transit, walkability, and the number of households without a car.
On average, Nashville residents spend about 28.6 minutes commuting each day, putting it on par with other top 10 cities like Charlotte, Dallas, and even Los Angeles. However, cities like New York City and Washington, D.C., boast longer average commute times of 43 and 37.20 minutes, respectively.
Despite Nashville’s relatively average commute time, the city falls short when it comes to walkability and public transit options. With walk and transit scores of 28.8 and 21.7, respectively, Nashville heavily relies on cars for commuting. In contrast, cities like New York City and Dallas boast much higher scores in these categories.
The impact of Nashville’s traffic congestion is palpable, with commuters losing an estimated 41 hours to congestion in 2022 alone. Following Nashville on the list of cities with challenging commutes are Charlotte, Jacksonville, Houston, and Washington, D.C.
On a global scale, Nashville ranks as the 131st most congested city in the world, underscoring the severity of the issue. Concerns about worsening congestion have spurred calls for infrastructure improvements in Tennessee. Proposed measures include introducing choice lanes on state highways, where drivers can use additional lanes for a fee.
While potential solutions are being discussed, it may be several years before commuters in Nashville see significant relief from the city’s notorious traffic woes.