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Table 1-65: Annual Roadway Congestion Index

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Population group Urban area 1982 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Points change
Short-term 2000-2007 Long-term 1982-2007
Points Ranka Points Ranka
Medium Akron, OH 0.50 0.54 0.68 0.69 0.71 0.76 0.79 0.78 0.81 0.84 0.85 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.85 0.86 0.89 0.87 0.89 0.88 2 49 38 27
Medium Albany-Schenectady, NY 0.42 0.45 0.57 0.58 0.62 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.67 0.69 0.70 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.76 0.78 0.80 0.81 0.82 0.83 10 13 41 18
Medium Albuquerque, NM 0.65 0.71 0.85 0.86 0.89 0.93 0.96 0.99 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.05 1.02 1.00 0.97 0.95 0.97 0.99 0.99 1.00 -2 69 35 36
Medium Allentown-Bethlehem, PA-NJ 0.64 0.68 0.76 0.78 0.83 0.87 0.90 0.92 0.96 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.97 0.95 0.93 0.92 0.95 0.95 0.93 0.94 -3 73 30 49
Small Anchorage, AK 0.75 0.75 0.72 0.72 0.71 0.70 0.72 0.71 0.70 0.70 0.71 0.72 0.73 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.76 3 48 1 85
Very large Atlanta, GA 0.83 0.93 1.02 1.04 1.06 1.11 1.18 1.21 1.25 1.29 1.31 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.34 1.32 1.31 -4 78 48 11
Medium Austin, TX 0.74 0.81 0.90 0.90 0.88 0.88 0.90 0.93 0.98 1.00 1.03 1.06 1.11 1.15 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.16 1.14 1.19 8 22 45 15
Small Bakersfield, CA 0.50 0.57 0.65 0.67 0.69 0.68 0.70 0.71 0.72 0.74 0.77 0.78 0.75 0.76 0.78 0.78 0.81 0.83 0.83 0.83 8 22 33 41
Large Baltimore, MD 0.75 0.81 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.97 0.99 1.02 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.09 1.12 1.18 1.20 1.20 1.21 1.20 1.21 12 9 46 13
Small Beaumont, TX 0.56 0.57 0.61 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.65 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.70 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.78 0.84 0.80 9 18 24 67
Medium Birmingham, AL 0.59 0.65 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.77 0.80 0.82 0.85 0.88 0.91 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.97 0.98 1.00 1.00 1.02 8 22 43 16
Very large Boston, MA-NH-RI 0.81 0.90 1.05 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.10 1.11 1.11 1.11 1.10 1.10 1.11 1.11 1.10 1.09 -2 69 28 58
Small Boulder, CO 0.73 0.75 0.79 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.90 0.88 0.90 0.91 0.90 0.92 0.91 0.91 0.90 0.91 0.89 -2 69 16 78
Medium Bridgeport-Stamford, CT-NY 0.80 0.91 0.98 0.95 0.98 0.98 0.98 1.01 1.01 1.03 1.06 1.07 1.09 1.12 1.15 1.14 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 10 13 39 24
Small Brownsville, TX 0.53 0.53 0.62 0.62 0.64 0.67 0.66 0.69 0.71 0.71 0.74 0.78 0.81 0.81 0.83 0.82 0.84 0.78 0.80 0.85 4 39 32 45
Large Buffalo, NY 0.48 0.50 0.56 0.57 0.59 0.60 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.65 0.67 0.69 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.73 0.74 0.75 0.77 0.77 6 31 29 53
Small Cape Coral, FL 0.94 0.92 0.87 0.87 0.90 0.98 1.06 1.14 1.15 1.11 1.14 1.13 1.11 1.11 1.15 1.19 1.23 1.26 1.33 1.31 20 2 37 31
Small Charleston-North Charleston, SC 0.85 0.89 0.94 0.95 0.98 0.99 1.02 1.01 1.00 1.01 1.04 1.04 1.05 1.03 1.05 1.08 1.08 1.09 1.13 1.14 9 18 29 53
Medium Charlotte, NC-SC 0.78 0.89 0.91 0.91 0.90 0.87 0.86 0.86 0.93 1.00 0.99 1.03 1.07 1.08 1.10 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.11 4 39 33 41
Very large Chicago, IL-IN 0.81 0.89 1.03 1.04 1.02 1.01 1.03 1.08 1.14 1.13 1.17 1.17 1.18 1.20 1.23 1.24 1.28 1.28 1.23 1.18 0 59 37 31
Large Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 0.66 0.74 0.88 0.87 0.87 0.92 0.97 0.97 1.00 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.04 1.06 1.06 1.04 1.06 1.05 1.06 -1 64 40 21
Large Cleveland, OH 0.73 0.69 0.83 0.84 0.85 0.88 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.91 0.89 0.89 0.91 0.90 0.90 0.89 -5 80 16 78
Small Colorado Springs, CO 0.50 0.56 0.61 0.60 0.62 0.64 0.66 0.70 0.72 0.77 0.80 0.83 0.86 0.88 0.87 0.85 0.81 0.88 0.87 0.85 -1 64 35 36
Small Columbia, SC 0.57 0.65 0.73 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.75 0.77 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.84 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.90 0.92 0.94 7 27 37 31
Large Columbus, OH 0.60 0.68 0.86 0.87 0.89 0.93 0.95 0.98 1.02 1.04 1.04 1.03 1.02 1.07 1.07 1.08 1.10 1.09 1.11 1.10 8 22 50 9
Small Corpus Christi, TX 0.55 0.63 0.68 0.67 0.66 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.67 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.70 0.71 0.71 0.72 0.75 0.75 0.72 0.70 0 59 15 80
Very large Dallas -Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 0.71 0.82 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.97 1.02 1.04 1.07 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.18 1.20 1.24 1.23 1.21 10 13 50 9
Medium Dayton, OH 0.80 0.79 0.85 0.85 0.84 0.88 0.82 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.91 0.90 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.90 0.95 0.93 0.93 0.91 2 49 11 82
Large Denver-Aurora, CO 0.82 0.83 0.89 0.91 0.92 0.95 0.98 1.03 1.07 1.09 1.13 1.16 1.17 1.17 1.15 1.16 1.14 1.18 1.16 1.17 0 59 35 36
Very large Detroit, MI 0.91 0.96 1.06 1.08 1.12 1.13 1.12 1.13 1.15 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.19 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.23 4 39 32 45
Medium El Paso, TX-NM 0.60 0.66 0.71 0.76 0.80 0.81 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.84 0.87 0.89 0.89 0.90 0.90 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.89 0.86 -3 73 26 62
Small Eugene, OR 0.69 0.70 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.79 0.78 0.80 0.82 0.83 0.85 0.88 0.91 0.88 0.88 0.92 0.92 0.91 0.89 0.88 -3 73 19 74
Medium Fresno, CA 0.68 0.73 0.80 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.87 0.90 0.91 0.94 0.91 0.92 0.91 0.91 0.94 0.93 0.91 -3 73 23 68
Medium Grand Rapids, MI 0.56 0.61 0.71 0.74 0.80 0.86 0.85 0.84 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.87 0.86 0.86 0.85 0.84 0.84 0.85 0.87 0.87 1 54 31 47
Medium Hartford, CT 0.58 0.63 0.70 0.73 0.87 0.78 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.89 0.92 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 5 36 39 24
Medium Honolulu, HI 0.82 0.88 1.04 1.04 1.06 1.06 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.10 6 31 28 58
Very large Houston, TX 0.99 1.05 1.00 0.96 0.95 0.97 0.99 1.02 1.04 1.07 1.10 1.14 1.13 1.21 1.28 1.29 1.25 1.27 1.27 1.29 16 4 30 49
Large Indianapolis, IN 0.80 0.83 0.94 0.97 1.02 1.05 1.11 1.17 1.17 1.20 1.17 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.16 1.14 1.12 1.11 1.09 -9 84 29 53
Medium Jacksonville, FL 0.79 0.83 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.95 0.97 0.98 1.01 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.02 1.01 1.03 1.06 1.09 1.12 1.18 1.17 15 7 38 27
Large Kansas City, MO-KS 0.53 0.64 0.74 0.74 0.76 0.80 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.81 0.81 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.81 0.79 0.80 0.79 0.79 -3 73 26 62
Small Laredo, TX 0.41 0.45 0.47 0.50 0.51 0.52 0.54 0.58 0.64 0.63 0.63 0.67 0.66 0.71 0.71 0.74 0.74 0.76 0.78 0.82 16 4 41 18
Large Las Vegas, NV 0.69 0.66 0.94 0.97 1.02 1.09 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.08 1.09 1.14 1.18 1.16 1.19 1.24 1.28 1.32 1.35 1.41 23 1 72 1
Small Little Rock, AR 0.54 0.60 0.70 0.73 0.71 0.72 0.75 0.77 0.79 0.79 0.82 0.85 0.83 0.86 0.82 0.83 0.87 0.89 0.94 0.94 11 11 40 21
Very large Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 1.21 1.25 1.57 1.56 1.54 1.52 1.49 1.51 1.54 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.54 1.54 1.55 1.55 1.58 1.56 1.56 1.58 4 39 37 31
Medium Louisville, KY-IN 0.83 0.82 0.83 0.89 0.94 0.98 1.01 1.02 1.04 1.07 1.09 1.10 1.10 1.09 1.12 1.14 1.16 1.12 1.10 1.09 -1 64 26 62
Medium Memphis, TN-MS-AR 0.74 0.69 0.82 0.81 0.83 0.85 0.88 0.90 0.91 0.90 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.96 0.93 0.92 0.91 -2 69 17 76
Very Large Miami, FL 0.76 0.82 0.99 1.00 1.04 1.06 1.09 1.13 1.14 1.17 1.21 1.26 1.33 1.34 1.36 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.39 6 31 63 3
Large Milwaukee, WI 0.65 0.75 0.89 0.90 0.90 0.88 0.88 0.91 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.99 1.00 0.98 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.95 0.94 0.95 -5 80 30 49
Large Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 0.65 0.73 0.85 0.87 0.90 0.93 1.00 1.02 1.03 1.08 1.11 1.14 1.16 1.19 1.17 1.18 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.17 1 54 52 6
Medium Nashville-Davidson, TN 0.82 0.80 0.85 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.90 0.92 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.95 0.97 0.98 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.00 0.99 4 39 17 76
Medium New Haven, CT 0.63 0.68 0.80 0.79 0.83 0.83 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.85 0.88 0.92 0.94 0.97 1.00 0.99 0.98 1.00 0.99 1.00 6 31 37 31
Large New Orleans, LA 0.86 0.91 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.88 0.93 0.94 0.91 0.92 0.96 0.96 0.94 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.98 0.98 4 39 12 81
Very large New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT 0.73 0.80 0.91 0.90 0.90 0.92 0.93 0.95 0.97 1.01 1.02 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.08 1.13 1.14 1.13 1.14 1.15 9 18 42 17
Large Oklahoma City, OK 0.63 0.69 0.70 0.72 0.73 0.77 0.77 0.81 0.83 0.85 0.86 0.88 0.87 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.90 0.90 0.92 5 36 29 53
Medium Omaha, NE-IA 0.61 0.66 0.75 0.75 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.81 0.84 0.83 0.85 0.87 0.89 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.96 0.96 7 27 35 36
Large Orlando, FL 0.72 0.83 0.96 0.99 0.98 0.96 0.98 1.00 1.03 1.07 1.10 1.12 1.16 1.22 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.23 1.23 1.24 8 22 52 6
Medium Oxnard-Ventura, CA 0.83 0.97 1.15 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.20 1.20 1.21 1.20 1.20 1.22 1.22 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.23 1.22 1.22 0 59 39 24
Small Pensacola, FL-AL 0.71 0.74 0.86 0.83 0.88 0.91 0.92 0.97 0.99 1.03 0.99 1.00 1.01 0.99 1.02 1.05 1.07 1.10 1.11 1.12 11 11 41 18
Very large Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD 0.83 0.85 0.95 0.92 0.94 0.92 0.94 0.95 0.95 0.99 1.01 1.03 1.04 1.07 1.09 1.09 1.10 1.12 1.10 1.11 7 27 28 58
Very large Phoenix, AZ 1.03 1.02 1.01 1.00 1.03 1.04 1.03 1.07 1.11 1.10 1.14 1.19 1.25 1.26 1.23 1.25 1.30 1.32 1.29 1.25 0 59 22 71
Large Pittsburgh, PA 0.67 0.69 0.76 0.75 0.74 0.73 0.73 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.78 0.79 0.80 0.80 0.79 0.78 0.78 1 54 11 82
Large Portland, OR-WA 0.87 0.89 1.00 1.01 1.03 1.05 1.07 1.11 1.15 1.18 1.18 1.20 1.21 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.22 1.23 1.20 1.20 -1 64 33 41
Large Providence, RI-MA 0.55 0.54 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.72 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.78 0.85 0.87 0.88 0.91 0.91 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.93 0.95 7 27 40 21
Medium Raleigh-Durham, NC 0.63 0.75 0.85 0.85 0.87 0.86 0.88 0.92 0.92 0.95 0.94 0.94 0.96 0.96 0.98 0.97 0.99 1.01 1.00 1.01 5 36 38 27
Medium Richmond, VA 0.61 0.58 0.75 0.78 0.81 0.79 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.80 0.77 0.75 0.77 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.82 0.83 0.83 6 31 22 71
Large Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 0.76 0.89 1.14 1.17 1.16 1.14 1.11 1.16 1.17 1.15 1.19 1.24 1.26 1.29 1.36 1.43 1.45 1.45 1.47 1.45 19 3 69 2
Medium Rochester, NY 0.48 0.52 0.63 0.64 0.66 0.66 0.68 0.71 0.71 0.70 0.70 0.72 0.73 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.77 0.77 4 39 29 53
Large Sacramento, CA 0.75 0.88 1.10 1.10 1.08 1.08 1.10 1.12 1.16 1.13 1.17 1.19 1.23 1.26 1.29 1.31 1.35 1.36 1.33 1.33 10 13 58 4
Small Salem, OR 0.58 0.66 0.82 0.84 0.84 0.85 0.85 0.84 0.83 0.85 0.88 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.91 0.88 0.87 0.89 0.91 0.91 2 49 33 41
Medium Salt Lake City, UT 0.72 0.77 0.88 0.92 0.95 0.99 1.05 1.07 1.07 1.03 1.01 1.00 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.05 1.04 1.06 1 54 34 40
Large San Antonio, TX 0.68 0.78 0.75 0.75 0.77 0.78 0.82 0.86 0.89 0.92 0.96 1.01 1.04 1.03 1.05 1.07 1.12 1.18 1.18 1.16 12 9 48 11
Large San Diego, CA 0.83 0.93 1.23 1.22 1.22 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.23 1.28 1.33 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.42 1.41 1.39 1.37 4 39 54 5
Very large San Francisco-Oakland, CA 1.01 1.13 1.31 1.30 1.29 1.30 1.29 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.36 1.38 1.35 1.39 1.40 1.39 1.40 1.40 1.39 1 54 38 27
Large San Jose, CA 1.03 1.10 1.23 1.23 1.20 1.16 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.23 1.35 1.37 1.36 1.36 1.33 1.33 1.34 1.34 -1 64 31 47
Medium Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 0.77 0.86 0.87 0.89 0.89 0.91 0.92 0.94 0.98 1.01 1.02 1.10 1.13 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.21 1.24 1.27 1.23 10 13 46 13
Large Seattle, WA 0.84 0.94 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.16 1.15 1.13 1.12 -6 82 28 58
Small Spokane, WA 0.53 0.59 0.64 0.67 0.71 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.76 0.76 0.75 0.76 0.73 0.71 0.71 0.72 -4 78 19 74
Medium Springfield, MA-CT 0.60 0.63 0.69 0.70 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.75 0.77 0.79 0.79 0.78 0.81 0.81 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 4 39 23 68
Large St. Louis, MO-IL 0.84 0.89 0.86 0.84 0.88 0.92 0.99 1.04 1.05 1.05 1.03 1.03 1.02 1.01 1.00 0.96 0.94 0.91 0.89 0.89 -13 85 5 84
Large Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 1.04 1.09 1.13 1.18 1.17 1.18 1.18 1.16 1.14 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.13 1.17 1.20 1.21 1.26 1.27 1.29 1.29 16 4 25 66
Medium Toledo, OH-MI 0.54 0.61 0.65 0.64 0.68 0.72 0.78 0.81 0.86 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.91 0.91 0.90 0.87 0.88 0.87 0.87 0.84 -7 83 30 49
Medium Tucson, AZ 0.89 0.91 0.93 0.93 0.94 0.93 0.91 0.91 0.93 0.98 0.99 1.00 1.01 1.04 1.06 1.10 1.12 1.18 1.17 1.15 14 8 26 62
Medium Tulsa, OK 0.62 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.79 0.82 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.83 0.80 0.81 0.82 0.83 2 49 21 73
Large Virginia Beach, VA 0.78 0.82 0.85 0.83 0.83 0.84 0.87 0.89 0.92 0.95 0.96 0.98 0.99 0.99 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.01 2 49 23 68
Very large Washington, DC-VA-MD 0.83 1.01 1.05 1.06 1.12 1.15 1.21 1.22 1.24 1.24 1.25 1.24 1.25 1.28 1.31 1.34 1.34 1.35 1.33 1.34 9 18 51 8
NA 85-Area Averageb 0.72 0.77 0.86 0.87 0.89 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.95 0.97 0.98 0.99 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.05 1.05 4 NA 33 NA

KEY: NA = not applicable.

Very large urban areas – over 3 million population.

Large urban areas – over 1 million and less than 3 million population.

Medium urban areas – over 500,000 and less than 1 million population.

Small urban areas – less than 500,000 population.

a Rank is based on the calculated point change with the highest number corresponding to a rank of 1.

b Average weighted by vehicle miles travled in city.

NOTES

The Roadway Congestion Index (RCI) is a measure of vehicle travel density on major roadways in an urban area. An RCI exceeding 1.0 indicates an undesirable congestion level, on an average, on the freeways and principal arterial street systems during the peak period. The urban areas included are those containing over 500,000 people and several smaller places mostly chosen by previous sponsors of the Texas Transportation Institute study on mobility.

Methodology and data sources have been changed in 2009 and applied retroactively to past years; these figures are not comparable to those in past editions of NTS.

SOURCE

Texas Transportation Institute, The 2009 Annual Urban Mobility Report (College Station, TX: 2009), Internet site http://mobility.tamu.edu as of Sept. 10, 2009.
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