Baltimore driving ranking 2026 places the city among the 10 worst major U.S. cities for motorists. Baltimore finished 92nd among 100 cities, according to the latest study, as the Baltimore Chronicle editorial team notes.
The WalletHub 2026 study was published on October 6. Researchers compared 100 large U.S. cities using 30 indicators of driver-friendliness.
Why Baltimore ranked 92nd for driving
Baltimore received an overall score of 42.87 out of 100. The city performed especially poorly in safety and transportation infrastructure.
WalletHub divided its analysis into 4 major categories:
- Cost of Ownership and Maintenance
- Traffic and Infrastructure
- Safety
- Access to Vehicles and Maintenance
Baltimore ranked 50th for ownership and maintenance costs. Its position dropped sharply in the other major categories.
The city ranked 89th for Traffic and Infrastructure and 97th for Safety. Access to Vehicles and Maintenance placed Baltimore 55th.
Baltimore driving rankings by category
The detailed scores show where Baltimore lost the most ground compared with other major cities.
| Category | Baltimore rank |
|---|---|
| Overall | 92nd |
| Cost of Ownership and Maintenance | 50th |
| Traffic and Infrastructure | 89th |
| Safety | 97th |
| Access to Vehicles and Maintenance | 55th |
WalletHub notes that a lower numerical position represents worse conditions within these category rankings.
Baltimore also tied near the bottom for accident likelihood compared with the national average. That metric helped push its overall Safety ranking to 97th.
Which cities ranked worse than Baltimore?
Only 8 cities finished below Baltimore in the national ranking.
They were:
- Seattle
- Oakland
- Chicago
- Detroit
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Washington, D.C.
- Philadelphia
Philadelphia finished last with a score of 36.35. Washington, D.C., ranked 99th with 36.36.
San Francisco finished immediately ahead of Baltimore in 91st place. Its overall score was 43.37.
The results show a difficult pattern for drivers across several large metropolitan centers. Traffic congestion alone was not the only factor considered.
WalletHub also measured accident risks, road quality, fuel costs, vehicle expenses and access to repair services.
Earlier we wrote that Trump to announce $6.6 billion Anduril submarine shipyard investment in Baltimore County