Everyone wins when motorists follow the rules of the road. These cities can take a victory lap for having the best drivers in the nation.
With reckless driving behavior and traffic fatality rates on the rise ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, drivers should take extra precaution when traveling now more than ever.[1] Despite this recent increase in dangerous driving incidents, it’s still crucial to recognize that not all drivers are following this unfortunate trend. In fact, the large majority of motorists in the U.S. obey traffic laws and are considerate of other drivers, making the road a safer place for everyone.
Safe driving is always its own reward, but it actually pays to be good, too. Insurify’s 2022 Insuring the American Driver report found that having just one prior traffic offense on record increases a driver’s insurance premium on average by 35%.[1] Depending on the incident, one offense can cost a driver hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars per year. Drivers who practice safe habits save not only lives but some serious money, too.
Curious to see where drivers actually accrue traffic infractions at the lowest rates, the data science team at Insurify turned to their database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications to identify the city in each state with the best drivers in 2022.
Insights
National average. Across the U.S., 82.9% of drivers have no at-fault traffic violations on record. For perspective, this is about the same proportion of U.S. men standing 5′6″ or taller and U.S. women standing 5′1″ or taller.[2]
Michigan sets an example for safe driving. A whopping 5 of the 10 best driving cities in the country are in Michigan, which also has the highest share of drivers with a clean record — 88.1% — of any state in the country. Michigan has the highest insurance premiums in the nation, too, so it’s possible that motorists there are driving extra carefully to avoid additional costs. The Wolverine State also has a storied history of automobile manufacturing, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Michigan drivers display excellent competency behind the wheel. In fact, 90.5% of drivers in Dearborn, MI — global headquarters of the Ford Motor Company — have a clean driving record, meaning the town is the second-best driving city in the nation.
Battle of the boroughs: who drives the best? Though plenty of New York City residents don’t own a car, those who do drive have a reputation for being brash. Yet a full 88.3% drivers in The Bronx, NY, have a clean driving record, which is not only 7% higher than the national average but, more importantly, a higher share than any other borough in New York. Living up to its reputation, Staten Island has the worst drivers in the city, but its 84.4% clean driving rate is actually higher than the national average.
Methodology
Researchers at Insurify, a car insurance comparison platform, turned to their database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications to identify the U.S. cities with the best drivers in 2022. For every U.S. city with at least 50,000 residents — the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of an urban area — Insurify’s data scientists compared the number of drivers with a clean driving record against the overall driving population. The city in each state with the largest share of drivers without any at-fault violations on record was deemed the best driving city in its respective state in 2022. For states with fewer than three cities with a population greater than 50,000, the state’s three largest cities were considered in this analysis. Due to insufficient city-level data, Hawaii, Maine, North Dakota, and Vermont were excluded from this analysis.
Population data for each metro area was gathered from the United States Census Bureau.[3]
The findings in this article represent statistical trends found in Insurify’s analysis of over 4.6 million car insurance applications. The findings of this study are not meant to imply the direction nor necessarily the existence of a causal relationship. Rather, this is a presentation of statistical correlations of public interest.
Which city has the best drivers?
The Villages, FL, has the best drivers of any city in the country. 91.6% of the city’s motorists have a clean driving record, while just 82.9% of drivers nationwide can say the same.
City in Each State With the Best Drivers (2022)
Alabama: Mobile
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.2%
Alaska: Juneau
Share of drivers with a clean record: 80.5%
Arizona: Yuma
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.0%
Arkansas: North Little Rock
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.2%
California: San Mateo
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.4%
Colorado: Pueblo
Share of drivers with a clean record: 84.8%
Connecticut: Waterbury
Share of drivers with a clean record: 89.7%
Delaware: Wilmington
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.2%
Florida: The Villages
Share of drivers with a clean record: 91.6%
Georgia: Alpharetta
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.5%
Idaho: Idaho Falls
Share of drivers with a clean record: 79.5%
Illinois: Peoria
Share of drivers with a clean record: 85.9%
Indiana: Gary
Share of drivers with a clean record: 84.6%
Iowa: West Des Moines
Share of drivers with a clean record: 78.6%
Kansas: Topeka
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.2%
Kentucky: Louisville
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.9%
Louisiana: Shreveport
Share of drivers with a clean record: 85.6%
Maryland: Dundalk
Share of drivers with a clean record: 83.2%
Massachusetts: Boston
Share of drivers with a clean record: 87.1%
Michigan: Dearborn
Share of drivers with a clean record: 90.5%
Minnesota: St. Paul
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.8%
Mississippi: Jackson
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.7%
Missouri: Florissant
Share of drivers with a clean record: 84.5%
Montana: Great Falls
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.1%
Nebraska: Omaha
Share of drivers with a clean record: 79.3%
Nevada: Las Vegas
Share of drivers with a clean record: 87.8%
New Hampshire: Concord
Share of drivers with a clean record: 81.8%
New Jersey: Newark
Share of drivers with a clean record: 88.5%
New Mexico: Albuquerque
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.8%
New York: New York City
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.5%
North Carolina: Cary
Share of drivers with a clean record: 84.9%
Ohio: Youngstown
Share of drivers with a clean record: 76.8%
Oklahoma: Enid
Share of drivers with a clean record: 85.2%
Oregon: Eugene
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.0%
Pennsylvania: Bethlehem
Share of drivers with a clean record: 86.2%
Rhode Island: Providence
Share of drivers with a clean record: 85.8%
South Carolina: Rock Hill
Share of drivers with a clean record: 78.1%
South Dakota: Rapid City
Share of drivers with a clean record: 79.9%
Tennessee: Franklin
Share of drivers with a clean record: 83.3%
Texas: Mission
Share of drivers with a clean record: 89.6%
Utah: West Jordan
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.6%
Virginia: Arlington
Share of drivers with a clean record: 82.3%
Washington: Bellevue
Share of drivers with a clean record: 83.5%
West Virginia: Huntington
Share of drivers with a clean record: 85.5%
Wisconsin: Kenosha
Share of drivers with a clean record: 80.0%
Wyoming: Cheyenne
Share of drivers with a clean record: 79.5%
Data Attribution
The information, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are free to use, we just ask that you attribute any full or partial use to Insurify with a link to this page. Thank you!
If you have any questions or comments about this article or would like to request the data, please contact insights@insurify.com.
Sources
- Insurify. "2021 Insuring the American Driver: Trends in Costs and Coverage." Accessed May 2, 2022
- DQYDJ. "Height Percentile Calculator for Men and Women in the United States." Accessed May 2, 2022
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals and Components of Change: 2010-2019." Accessed May 2, 2022