Study: San Antonio has some of the nation’s worst traffic — and it’s getting more congested

San Antonio’s traffic is even more grinding than Austin’s, making our metro area one of the nation’s worst for daily commuters, according to a new study by traffic- and parking-data company INRIX.

And if it seems like traffic here has gotten even more sluggish, the report backs up your suspicion. Researchers for Washington-based INRIX found that Alamo City roads have gotten more congested over the past two years.

Indeed, San Antonio has Texas’ third-worst traffic behind Houston and Dallas, in respective order, according to the company’s 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard. Overall, our metro ranked No. 21 in the nation and No. 124 in the world when it comes to traffic delays.

To prepare the report, researchers analyzed travel delays, commuting trends and costs of congestion to drivers and regions based on travel patterns in the world’s 945 largest metros.

San Antonio drivers spent an average of 39 hours stuck in traffic last year, according to the data. That commute time cost motorists an average of $698 in lost revenue and economic productivity.

Last year, traffic in the Alamo City was 11% worse than in 2023, the report states, and streets here were 31% more congested than they were two years prior.

Northeast San Antonio between U.S. Highway 281 North and I-10 East had the metro’s biggest increase in traffic delays since 2019. Even so, things could be worse. Drivers in Houston spent 66 hours stuck in traffic last year, and Dallas drivers were stuck behind the wheel for 41 hours, the report shows.

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.