Austin Drivers Lose 39 Hours to Traffic in 2024, Study Reveals Costly Congestion

In 2024, Austin cars were stuck in traffic for 39 hours, which cost each person an average of $698 in lost time and work. The city had 3% more delays than in 2023, according to the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, which put it 22nd in the U.S. for traffic congestion. The city of Austin lost about $700 million because of its traffic problems.

Even though traffic is getting worse in Austin, it's still not as bad as it is in New York, where drivers lost 102 hours due to traffic. Houston, Texas, had the most delays, with drivers losing 66 hours. It was also the only city in Texas to make the list of the top 25 places in the world.

Austin and San Antonio both lost 39 hours, but San Antonio's delays went up by 11%, which was a bigger year-over-year hike. Interestingly, traffic got better last year in smaller towns like Waco and New Braunfels.

The study said that Austin's small rise was due to continuing trends of working from home in tech-heavy areas. But as more people go back to work, traffic is likely to get worse. In 2024, traffic in the United States cost the country $74 billion and wasted 43 hours of driving time each year.

The scorecard showed that the US-80 route from Dallas to Forney was one of the busiest in the country, ranking third overall. Even though drivers in Austin didn't go to such lengths, the report shows how expensive traffic congestion is getting in the Texas city.

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