![\"traffic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Phoenix-Traffic-Jam.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoenix commuters drive on State Route 202 during the morning commute to work in 2005.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoenix commuters drive on State Route 202 during the morning commute to work in 2005.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Jeff Topping\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Braving the summer heat in Phoenix is a grueling task for anyone. But what can really set a desert dweller over the edge is sitting in rush hour traffic<\/a> with the air conditioning blasted and the sun in full force.\u00a0When the writers of \u201cKing of the Hill\u201d called Phoenix a \u201cmonument to man\u2019s hubris,\u201d that\u2019s what they meant.<\/p>\n But how bad is traffic in Phoenix<\/a>, really? How much time do Valley residents spend stuck in highway congestion?<\/p>\n An August study<\/a> from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute aimed to answer these questions for urban areas across the country. The team behind the study also created an online tool <\/a>that makes it easy to view data, dating back to the 1980s, for a particular city.<\/p>\n Drivers in Phoenix, predictably, experience some of the highest traffic delays in the country \u2014 though, considering it\u2019s the fifth-largest city in the country and one of the largest metropolitan areas, it might not be as high as you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill you step up to support New Times this year?<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Across the Valley, drivers were delayed more than 203 million hours in 2024, according to the study. That was the 11th-highest figure among major urban areas in the country, and 6% higher than what the Phoenix metro experienced in 2023. The average Valley commuter spent 76 hours in traffic every year \u2014 more than three days \u2014 which is the 12th-highest average in the nation.<\/p>\n Phoenix\u2019s annual estimated congestion cost \u2014 a metric that puts a price on every hour of delay in addition to the cost of excess fuel spent in traffic \u2014 was more than $5.6 million. That comes out to an average of $1,645 per person last year.<\/p>\n In Phoenix, peak congestion hours occurred between 3 and 6 p.m. on weekdays, with the city experiencing approximately five hours of congestion each day. Approximately 37% of delays were caused by traffic on freeways during peak hours, while 26% occurred on normal city streets during the same times.<\/p>\n