These SC cities have some of the worst traffic in the US, report says. See where they rank and why

Patrick McCreless
·3 min read
4

If you’ve ever felt that traffic in South Carolina can be brutal, chances are you’re not being overdramatic.

HireAHelper recently analyzed U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Survey statistics to compile a report on which states, cities and metro areas have the worst traffic for commuters.

South Carolina ranked as the third worst state for commuters in the U.S. Florida came in at the top for worst traffic, followed by Georgia. Below are the rankings of South Carolina metro areas that are the worst for commuting out of a list of more than 300 U.S. metro areas.

  • Spartanburg: 7th

  • Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach: 20th

  • Charleston-North Charleston: 29th

  • Greenville-Anderson: 35th

  • Sumter: 67th

  • Columbia: 102nd

The rankings of states and metro areas came from deposit scores based on a set of criteria including:

  • Average one-way commute time (40%)

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation (20%)

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work (15%)

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle (15%)

  • Population density (10%)

Here is a breakdown of the data for South Carolina and the metro areas listed above.

South Carolina

  • Average one-way commute time: 25.6 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 84.7%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 94.8%

  • Population density: 223.6 people per square mile

Spartanburg

  • Average one-way commute time: 24.3 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 88%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Below average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 95.4%

  • Population density: 415.5 people per square mile

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach

  • Average one-way commute time: 23.4 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 85.3%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Below average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 96.7%

  • Population density: 257.1 people per square mile

Charleston-North Charleston

  • Average one-way commute time: 26.5 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 80.1%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 96.5%

  • Population density: 313.9 people per square mile

Greenville-Anderson

  • Average one-way commute time: 25.5 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 84.1%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 94.9%

  • Population density: 347.2 people per square mile

Sumter

  • Average one-way commute time: 28.4 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 94.1%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Above average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 89.3%

  • Population density: 106.7 people per square mile

Columbia

  • Average one-way commute time: 25.1 minutes

  • Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 83.2%

  • Diversity of times that people leave for work: Above average

  • Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 94.3%

  • Population density: 225.8 people per square mile