Ranking of States with the worst roads

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State and local governments spend billions each year on road maintenance and operations, but does it amount to better roads for taxpayers?

MoneyGeek analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Census Bureau to learn more about America’s urban road infrastructure, find the states with the best and worst road quality and determine if more state spending translated to better roads.

Our findings suggest that taxpayers are not necessarily getting their money’s worth. At best, they are getting just enough road investment to maintain the current condition of roads, but not enough to improve them.

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KEY FINDINGS:

About 1 in 10 U.S. roads are in poor condition, but urban roads are even worse: 1 in 5 are in poor condition.

California and Rhode Island were the states ranked worst for road roughness, with 44% and 41% of roads in poor condition, respectively.

New Hampshire and Alabama had the best roads in the U.S. and spent some of the lowest capital outlay per mile ($9.82 and $6.44, respectively).

States generally spend in proportion to how much their roads are utilized, reflecting both the need to address wear and tear and how roads are funded — typically, via gas taxes.

However, how much each state spends on roads has no correlation with road quality after adjusting for vehicle miles.

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1. CA
2. Rhode Island
3. Nebraska
4. Wisconsin
5. New York

8. Louisiana

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