With U.S. traffic congestion costing U.S. drivers $88 billion in 2019 but driving reduced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2021's Best & Worst States to Drive in.

To determine the most driver-friendly states in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.

North Carolina ranked well in auto repair shops per capita, auto maintenance costs, and car dealerships per capita.

It ranked fairly well in car theft rate, average gas prices, and road quality.

It ranked toward the middle in rush-hour traffic congestion.

Here's how North Carolina ranked in the study in the different metrics:

Driving in North Carolina (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• 29^th – Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion
• 19^th – Car Theft Rate
• 9^th – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita
• 14^th – Avg. Gas Prices
• 5^th – Auto-Maintenance Costs
• 16^th – Road Quality
• 10^th – Car Dealerships per Capita

Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It makes you late, and causes many people’s tempers to flare up. But it’s also quite bad for your wallet – in fact, congestion cost U.S. drivers $88 billion in 2019, as well as an average of 99 hours of their time. The U.S. also has five out of the world’s 25 worst cities for traffic, and 19 of the worst 25 in North America. Due to COVID-19, though, 2020’s traffic congestion numbers are likely to be lower overall. As of October 2020, cumulative travel on roads in 2020 was over 380 billion vehicle miles fewer than the same period in 2019, a reduction of 13.9 percent.

Congestion isn’t the only concern on the road, though. People want to know that they will be driving on safe, well-maintained roads before heading out. The U.S. has a fairly good track record in these regards, but certainly doesn’t top the list. For example, the World Economics Forum only places the U.S. at rank 17 of 141 when it comes to road quality.

Road conditions naturally aren’t consistent across the entire country. To identify the states with the most positive driving experiences, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 31 key indicators of a positive commute. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.

State-by-state results