NYC Named One Of Nation's Worst Cities For Driving

NEW YORK, NY — It's no secret that driving in New York City is hard, but a new ranking indicates just how hard. The Big Apple was named the seventh-worst U.S. city to drive in on a new WalletHub list published Tuesday.

The personal finance website ranked 100 cities based on 29 metrics in four categories: cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance.

New York ranked last in traffic and infrastructure, a category that included measurements of the quality of roads and bridges and the average commute time.

The city ties with other high traffic cities including San Francisco, Atlanta and Los Angeles for 65th in the nation when it comes to the number of hours each auto commuter spends in traffic congestion each year, WalletHub found.

It's also expensive to be a driving New Yorker — the city ranked 92nd in the nation overall for cost of ownership and maintenance. New York City has the nation's highest auto maintenance costs and its parking rates are among the highest on the list, WalletHub found.

New York isn't so bad when it comes to access to vehicles and maintenance — the city ranked third in the nation in that category. It has the fourth-highest number of auto-repair shops per capita among the 100 ranked cities, WalletHub found.

Drivers across the Hudson River don't fare much better. Nearby Newark, New Jersey ranked just one spot ahead of the Big Apple at No. 93 on WalletHub's list.

Driving in the city isn't as bad as in Detroit, which ranked dead last. But anyone looking for an easier time on the roads could head to Raleigh, North Carolina, which took the top spot.

See WalletHub's full ranking here.

(Lead image: Patch file photo)