New report ranks state highway systems across the US. Where NC lands and why
A new report rated North Carolina’s highway system the best in the nation.
The Annual Highway Report from the Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank, ranked North Carolina’s highway system first in overall condition and cost-effectiveness.
The state also received decent marks in highway safety and condition categories, according to the report.
NC highway rankings
Here’s where North Carolina ranked in other areas of the study:
No. 17 in urban Interstate pavement condition
No. 20 in rural Interstate pavement condition
No. 10 in urban arterial pavement condition
No. 15 in rural arterial pavement condition
No. 31 in structurally deficient bridges
No. 9 in urban fatality rate
No. 39 in rural fatality rate
The state was near the top in spending and cost-effectiveness as well, ranking 7th in capital and bridge disbursements, or the cost of building new roads and widening existing ones, and 5th in maintenance spending, the cost of repaving roads and filling in potholes.
North Carolina also ranked 21st in traffic congestion, with drivers spending an average of 15 hours per year stuck in traffic, according to the report.
Deadly rush hour driving
North Carolina ranked in the top 10 in urban fatality rate, but previous data show that the deadliest city in the nation for rush hour driving is right here in the Tar Heel state, The Charlotte Observer reported.
According to the study from Las Vegas injury law firm H&P Law last year, nearly a third (32.26%) of all traffic fatalities occur during the hours of 7-9 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. in Winston-Salem, making it the deadliest U.S. city for rush hour driving.
The percentage of traffic deaths that happen during rush hour in Winston-Salem is 40% higher than the national average, that study says.
Fayetteville was the only other North Carolina city on the list, coming in at No. 17 with nearly 27% of its traffic deaths occurring during rush hour.
Good highways, bad drivers
Data also show that, despite having the best highways in the nation, a North Carolina city is among those with the worst drivers, The Observer reported.
In Forbes Advisor’s list of cities with the worst drivers published last year, Charlotte landed at No. 15. The study evaluated cities based on metrics such as number of people killed in fatal crashes, total crashes, crashes involving a drunk driver, crashes involving a distracted driver and crashes involving speeding.
According to the study, Charlotte had roughly 10.18 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents. The city also had 4.12 fatal crashes involving speeding per 100,000 residents, putting it at No. 8 in that category nationally.
Charlotte wasn’t the only North Carolina city that made the list, with Raleigh coming at in No. 43.
Top-performing highway systems in the US
These are the 10 states with top-performing highway systems in the U.S., according to the report:
North Carolina
South Carolina
North Dakota
Virginia
Tennessee
Georgia
Minnesota
Utah
Missouri
Ohio
How did the Reason Foundation come up with its findings?
The report’s data are primarily information each state directly reported to the Federal Highway Administration for 2022, the most recent year with complete data available.
The report also used data from INRIX, a transportation analytics company, and the U.S. Census Bureau to find the number of commuters for metro areas.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 10:26 AM with the headline "New report ranks state highway systems across the US. Where NC lands and why."
