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Many variables can factor in to whether or not a place is good for driving. Highways may be in desperate need of repaving, potholes dotting roads and just waiting to damage a car, or the weather may churn out precipitation on a regular basis, causing cars to hydroplane as they attempt to navigate slick roadways. On the other side of things, some cities may be ideal for a long drive, with the sun shining on a clear day as you travel along smooth asphalt.
WalletHub looked at 100 of the largest cities in America to determine which are the best, and which are the worst, to drive in. Five cities in North Carolina made the cut, including two that landed in the Top 10:
- No. 2: Raleigh
- No. 6: Greensboro
- No. 11: Winston-Salem
- No. 21: Durham
- No. 35: Charlotte
North Carolina's capital city ranked highest among other Tar Heel State cities, while Greensboro ranked among the lowest annual hours spend in congestion per auto commuter. Additionally, both Greensboro and Durham have some of the lower auto maintenance costs in the country.
These are the 10 best cities to drive in:
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Boise, Idaho
- Plano, Texas
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- Laredo, Texas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Jacksonville, Florida
To determine the list, WalletHub analyzed 100 U.S. cities across four factors: cost of ownership & maintenance, traffic & infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles & maintenance. These factors were then evaluated using 30 relevant metrics, including cost of new car, average gas prices, average monthly car insurance premium, average commute time by car, quality of roads, traffic fatality rate per 100,000 population, share of uninsured drivers, rate of car thefts, car dealerships per capita and many more.
Check out the full report at WalletHub.com to see more of the best and worst U.S. cities to drive in.