L.A. traffic is actually getting better. That's not entirely a good thing. Here's why
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Los Angeles has experienced more than its share of struggles in the last few years.But when it come to one of the things that drives residents crazy, there are signs of slight improvement.New data show that the home of Carmageddon, the SigAlert and road rage has actually seen traffic congestion get a bit better.Los Angeles was the 10th-most congested city in the world in 2025, according to the Global Traffic Scorecard from INRIX, a transportation analytics firm.
That’s not exactly something to brag about, but L.A.was the eighth-most-congested in 2024.
Compared to other major U.S.cities, L.A.’s congestion ranked fourth, behind Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia, the scorecard found.Throughout the mid-to-late 2010s, L.A.
routinely ranked as having the worst traffic congestion anywhere in the world.California We ranked the 25 best and worst freeways in Southern California, based on traffic, accidents and much more.
See the worst roads in Los Angeles.So what is going on? Experts cite several theories:That’s not to say L.A.drivers had it easy, though.
In 2025, the average Angeleno driver still spent 87 hours — more than three full days — sitting in traffic, down from 88 hours the year before, according to the report.The flat or declining congestion numbers were not a surprise given the persistence of working from home in the post-pandemic era, said Michael Manville, a professor of urban planning at UCLA.
Plus, he added, “things have always been pretty bad” traffic-wise in L.A., meaning it’s harder for things to get much worse as opposed to slightly better.“It’s not new that we occasionally get knocked off the perch,” Manville said.Business Traffic has long been a headache in Southern California — but there are ways to cut down on the congestion.He noted that a 1% year-over-year decrease in congestion — the change noted in the INRIX scorecard — i...