America’s deteriorating roads and bridges are costing drivers money. Our team of analysts found that poor roads and bridges cost drivers an average of $556 every year. Nationwide, nearly 20% of America’s roads and 5% of bridges are currently in unacceptable condition.
Key findings:
- Aging roadways cost drivers an average of $559 a year in repairs, and in some states nearly $1,000.
- Rhode Island, West Virginia and Massachusetts have the worst roads and bridges in the U.S.
- Georgia, Alabama and Florida have the best roads and bridges.
The high costs drivers are paying directly result from a combination of what the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) considers non-acceptable roads and poor bridge decks. The more non-acceptable roads and poor bridge decks a state has, the more drivers pay as a result. For example, in California, 33% of roads are non-acceptable, and drivers pay an average of $862 per motorist in taxes and fees. In North Carolina, though, 10% of roads are non-acceptable, and drivers pay only $336 per motorist.
States with the best and worst roads
To find out which states have the best and worst roads, our analysts ranked each state based on a composite score of these factors:
- Percentage of non-acceptable roads.
- Square miles of poor bridge deck.
- Associated but not used in the rankings is the annual cost per motorist.
States are ranked from one to 50, with one being the worst overall road infrastructure and 50 being the best overall road infrastructure.
| Rank | State | % non-acceptable roads | % poor bridge deck (square miles area) | Cost Per Motorist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | 48% | 19% | $845 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 31% | 15% | $726 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 28% | 11% | $620 |
| 4 | New York | 26% | 10% | $625 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 33% | 7% | $711 |
| 6 | New Jersey | 45% | 7% | $713 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 28% | 7% | $620 |
| 8 | California | 33% | 6% | $799 |
| 9 | Illinois | 20% | 12% | $609 |
| 10 | Missouri | 24% | 8% | $743 |
| 11 | Louisiana | 23% | 9% | $667 |
| 12 | Washington | 28% | 6% | $659 |
| 13 | Maine | 21% | 9% | $543 |
| 14 | New Mexico | 34% | 5% | $767 |
| 15 | Michigan | 21% | 8% | $644 |
| 16 | South Dakota | 14% | 10% | $562 |
| 17 | Alaska | 19% | 7% | $402 |
| 18 | Colorado | 22% | 5% | $651 |
| 19 | Mississippi | 26% | 4% | $637 |
| 20 | New Hampshire | 18% | 7% | $476 |
| 21 | Hawaii | 40% | 3% | $818 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 25% | 4% | $547 |
| 23 | Montana | 13% | 7% | $472 |
| 24 | Iowa | 9% | 10% | $336 |
| 25 | Maryland | 28% | 3% | $637 |
| 26 | Vermont | 19% | 4% | $517 |
| 27 | North Carolina | 10% | 6% | $500 |
| 28 | Wyoming | 6% | 9% | $295 |
| 29 | Arizona | 23% | 1% | $614 |
| 30 | Indiana | 18% | 3% | $638 |
| 31 | Ohio | 16% | 3% | $506 |
| 32 | Texas | 22% | 1% | $709 |
| 33 | Arkansas | 8% | 5% | $671 |
| 34 | Virginia | 13% | 4% | $517 |
| 35 | Delaware | 16% | 3% | $456 |
| 36 | Minnesota | 9% | 4% | $543 |
| 37 | Kentucky | 7% | 5% | $444 |
| 38 | North Dakota | 6% | 5% | $410 |
| 39 | Nebraska | 7% | 5% | $461 |
| 40 | Utah | 20% | 1% | $709 |
| 41 | South Carolina | 8% | 4% | $564 |
| 42 | Idaho | 10% | 3% | $394 |
| 43 | Kansas | 11% | 3% | $509 |
| 44 | Oregon | 11% | 3% | $256 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 6% | 5% | $394 |
| 46 | Nevada | 14% | 1% | $558 |
| 47 | Tennessee | 5% | 5% | $209 |
| 48 | Florida | 12% | 3% | $425 |
| 49 | Alabama | 9% | 2% | $434 |
| 50 | Georgia | 7% | 1% | $375 |
| United States | 19% | 5% | $559 |
Cost to drive in each state
When our analysts looked at the cost of aging roads, they found two things to consider: the cost of repairing the road and the cost of repairing your car. The table below shows how much drivers in each state pay for road repairs. Drivers in Oklahoma, California and Rhode Island pay the most, while drivers in Georgia, Oregon and Tennessee pay the least.
| Rank | State | Cost Per Motorist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $845 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $818 |
| 3 | California | $799 |
| 4 | New Mexico | $767 |
| 5 | Missouri | $743 |
| 6 | West Virginia | $726 |
| 7 | New Jersey | $713 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $711 |
| 9 | Texas | $709 |
| 10 | Utah | $709 |
| 11 | Arkansas | $671 |
| 12 | Louisiana | $667 |
| 13 | Washington | $659 |
| 14 | Colorado | $651 |
| 15 | Michigan | $644 |
| 16 | Indiana | $638 |
| 17 | Maryland | $637 |
| 18 | Mississippi | $637 |
| 19 | New York | $625 |
| 20 | Massachusetts | $620 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $620 |
| 22 | Arizona | $614 |
| 23 | Illinois | $609 |
| 24 | South Carolina | $564 |
| 25 | South Dakota | $562 |
| 26 | Nevada | $558 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $547 |
| 28 | Maine | $543 |
| 29 | Minnesota | $543 |
| 30 | Vermont | $517 |
| 31 | Virginia | $517 |
| 32 | Kansas | $509 |
| 33 | Ohio | $506 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $500 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $476 |
| 36 | Montana | $472 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $461 |
| 38 | Delaware | $456 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $444 |
| 40 | Alabama | $434 |
| 41 | Florida | $425 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $410 |
| 43 | Alaska | $402 |
| 44 | Idaho | $394 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $394 |
| 46 | Georgia | $375 |
| 47 | Iowa | $336 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $295 |
| 49 | Oregon | $256 |
| 50 | Tennessee | $209 |
| United States | $559 |
Insurance implications of poor road conditions
What’s not included in the table above is the cost of repairing your car and the effect poor road infrastructure can have on your insurance. It’s estimated that driving on poor-condition roads costs each driver $533 in vehicle repairs and operating costs. If road conditions contribute to a crash, that can get even more expensive. Filing a claim can increase your auto insurance premium, and getting into an accident can also increase premiums by 42% or more.
Unmaintained roads can also lead to an increase in poor road conditions such as potholes. Potholes can both contribute to car accidents and cause significant damage to a vehicle. The average repair bill associated with a pothole mishap is $306.
Infrastructure funding for repairs and maintenance
While analyzing FHWA data, we found a direct correlation between states that use funds to maintain roads and states that rank well in overall road infrastructure. Meanwhile, states with poor road infrastructure have higher costs per driver and worse road conditions across the board.
| State | % spending on road repair | Cost per motorist |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 2% | $845 |
| Illinois | 4% | $609 |
| Mississippi | 4% | $637 |
| Ohio | 4% | $506 |
| North Carolina | 11% | $500 |
| Arizona | 15% | $614 |
| Texas | 15% | $709 |
| Tennessee | 16% | $209 |
| Arkansas | 19% | $671 |
| Delaware | 19% | $456 |
| Virginia | 19% | $517 |
| West Virginia | 19% | $726 |
| Indiana | 20% | $638 |
| Maryland | 20% | $637 |
| Missouri | 20% | $743 |
| Connecticut | 21% | $711 |
| Nevada | 21% | $558 |
| Washington | 21% | $659 |
| Louisiana | 22% | $667 |
| Pennsylvania | 22% | $620 |
| Massachusetts | 23% | $620 |
| Oregon | 25% | $256 |
| Utah | 26% | $709 |
| Oklahoma | 27% | $394 |
| Colorado | 30% | $651 |
| Kentucky | 30% | $444 |
| Hawaii | 31% | $818 |
| Minnesota | 31% | $543 |
| South Carolina | 32% | $564 |
| Kansas | 33% | $509 |
| Wisconsin | 33% | $547 |
| Georgia | 34% | $375 |
| California | 35% | $799 |
| Idaho | 36% | $394 |
| Florida | 37% | $425 |
| Alaska | 39% | $402 |
| New Mexico | 39% | $767 |
| Iowa | 40% | $336 |
| Alabama | 41% | $434 |
| New York | 43% | $625 |
| Montana | 45% | $472 |
| New Hampshire | 45% | $476 |
| Vermont | 46% | $517 |
| Nebraska | 53% | $461 |
| Michigan | 54% | $644 |
| Wyoming | 54% | $295 |
| New Jersey | 57% | $713 |
| Maine | 65% | $543 |
| North Dakota | 68% | $410 |
| South Dakota | 69% | $562 |
Methodology
States are ranked one to 50, with one being the worst overall road infrastructure and 50 being the best overall road infrastructure. Rankings are based on a composite score of the percentage of non-acceptable roads and the percentage of the state's total bridge deck area that is considered to be poor and structurally deficient. Also included in the composite score rank is the cost per motorist that is allocated towards repairing bridge and road infrastructure.
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