Seattle traffic worsens: Drivers lose 63 hours to congestion in 2024

Congestion jumped 9% in the Seattle area in 2024 compared to 2023. In turn, drivers lost 63 hours on average to traffic delays, five more hours than the year before, according to the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard.

According to Inrix, Seattle has the 10th-worst traffic congestion in the nation — the same ranking the city had in 2023. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Atlanta and Washington D.C. were the nine cities ranking higher than Seattle regarding traffic congestion. Of the cities on the list, only three spent less time on the road compared to the year before — Los Angeles, Boston and Washington D.C.

A significant factor in the increased congestion on the roads is the return-to-office mandates for many local employees, especially Amazon workers.