It's Friday afternoon on a perfect summer day, and you're ready to escape the city. Just how fast could you get out? If you picked up your keys and hit the road, here's where you could end up:
Area accessible in...
1 hour
5 hours
...leaving from downtown at 4 p.m. on a Friday
Area accessible in...
1 hour
5 hours
...leaving from downtown at 4 p.m. on a Friday
Seattle
Portland
Boston
Minneapolis
Detroit
New York
Chicago
Denver
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
Kansas City
Las Vegas
St. Louis
Nashville
Los Angeles
Charlotte
Atlanta
Dallas
San Antonio
Houston
Orlando
Tampa
Miami
Area accessible in...
1 hour
5 hours
...leaving from downtown at 4 p.m. on a Friday
Seattle
Portland
Boston
Minneapolis
Detroit
New York
Pittsburgh
Sacramento
Chicago
Philadelphia
Denver
Baltimore
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
Cincinnati
Kansas City
St. Louis
Las Vegas
Nashville
Charlotte
Los Angeles
Phoenix
Atlanta
San Diego
Dallas
San Antonio
Houston
Orlando
Tampa
Miami
There are vast swaths of America that are not easily accessible from America’s largest cities. And if you limit travel time to an hour, you might not get far from city limits.
Don’t forget about rush hour
How far you get in an hour often varies based on when you decide to leave.
Using billions of anonymous measurements from cell phones and vehicle sensors, Here Technologies, a location platform company, calculates how traffic conditions change throughout the day, said Alex Gordy, director of the company’s product management for traffic. That information can be used to predict how far you can get if you depart at rush hour versus later at night.
In Boston, you can drive a full 20 miles farther if you leave at 10 p.m. than if you leave at rush hour. Twenty miles might not seem like much, but in tightly packed New England, it’s the difference between being stuck in Massachusetts or escaping to neighboring Rhode Island or New Hampshire.
Compare that to Houston — a city with more than three times as many people as Boston — where you can travel almost 50 miles in one hour no matter what time you depart.
How far you can travel from downtown in one hour
Leaving at 4 p.m.
Traffic matters more
7 p.m.
Traffic matters less
10 p.m.
25 mi.
50
Boston
Los Angeles
Miami
Chicago
San Francisco
San Diego
Phoenix
Washington
Charlotte, N.C.
Philadelphia
Portland, Ore.
Minneapolis
Denver
Nashville, Tenn.
Tampa, Fla.
Detroit
Sacramento, Calif.
New York
Baltimore
Houston
Dallas
Seattle
Pittsburgh
San Antonio
Cincinnati
Atlanta
Orlando, Fla.
Kansas City, Mo.
St. Louis
Las Vegas
How far you can travel from downtown in one hour
Leaving at 4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
25 miles
50
Boston
Los Angeles
Miami
Chicago
Traffic matters more
San Francisco
In Boston, you can get almost 25 miles farther from downtown if you leave at 10 p.m. compared to leaving at 4 p.m.
Traffic matters less
San Diego
Phoenix
Washington
Charlotte, N.C.
Philadelphia
Portland, Ore.
Minneapolis
Denver
Nashville, Tenn.
Tampa, Fla.
Detroit
Sacramento, Calif.
New York
Baltimore
Houston
Dallas
You can’t get much farther than 30 miles from downtown New York no matter when you leave.
Seattle
Pittsburgh
San Antonio
Cincinnati
Atlanta
Traffic hardly matters in Las Vegas, where you can travel more than 50 miles at any time of day.
Orlando, Fla.
Kansas City, Mo.
St. Louis
Las Vegas
Comparing traffic between cities is difficult, said Joe Cortright, president of Impresa Consulting, which specializes in metropolitan economies. If you focus only on the difference in travel time at rush hour, you miss the fact that in some cities, people just drive more, period. Sure, you can zip along at 60 miles per hour in St. Louis at any time of day, but you’re also much more likely to live farther from work, he said.
And you can’t alleviate traffic by just building more roads. That’s the “fundamental law of road congestion,” which says that when a new highway is built, it just increases the amount that people drive. That’s not necessarily bad — it can mean people gain more access to jobs and other opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach.
So what is behind nightmarish traffic? According to Cortright, it’s about zoning and segregation. The model of the modern American city, with separate sections for living, working, shopping and eating, spurs congestion.
Gridlock in action
Nowhere is the rhythm of traffic more visible than in Los Angeles. Should you decide to leave at 4 p.m., you probably won’t get far.
Start in the afternoon and you’ll barely make it to Long Beach, about 25 miles south. Leave at night and you can get almost twice as far. Compare that to Dallas, the fourth largest metro area, where traffic is less apparent.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
5
Lancaster
15
Los Angeles
Riverside
Long Beach
25 mi.
Pacific Ocean
Irvine
50 mi.
75 mi.
Sherman
35
30
Dallas
Ft. Worth
25 mi.
20
Cleburne
50 mi.
45
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Sherman
35
5
Lancaster
15
30
Dallas
Los Angeles
Ft. Worth
Riverside
Long Beach
25 mi.
25 mi.
20
Pacific Ocean
Irvine
Cleburne
50 mi.
50 mi.
45
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
35
Sherman
5
Lancaster
15
30
Los Angeles
Dallas
Ft. Worth
Riverside
Long Beach
20
25 mi.
25 mi.
Pacific Ocean
Irvine
Cleburne
50 mi.
50 mi.
45
75 mi.
75 mi.
Los Angeles is cornered by the ocean to the west and the mountains to the north. But L.A. is “particularly tricky,” said Madeline Brozen of the University of California at Los Angeles Institute of Transportation Studies, because it’s “a city of a thousand villages without a center.”
Jobs have cropped up in the adjoining coastal towns without affordable housing in those areas, exacerbating the problem, she said.
Leaving Las Vegas
A half-dozen freeways run through the heart of Las Vegas, producing a spidery pattern that hardly changes during the day. The city, however, is in the middle of the Mojave Desert so you can drive for an hour without hitting much besides Paradise (a town adjacent to Las Vegas).
Compare the spindly shape of Las Vegas to the star-shaped pattern surrounding Nashville, where you can reach most of the city suburbs, spread throughout the surrounding area, within an hour.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
NEV.
15
Las Vegas
Paradise
Boulder City
25 mi.
Ariz.
Calif.
50 mi.
75 mi.
Bowling Green
65
24
Ky.
Tenn.
Clarksville
Nashville
40
25 mi.
Murfreesboro
50 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Bowling Green
NEV.
65
24
15
Ky.
Tenn.
Clarksville
Nashville
Las Vegas
40
Paradise
Boulder City
25 mi.
25 mi.
Murfreesboro
Ariz.
Calif.
50 mi.
50 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Bowling Green
NEVADA
65
24
15
KENTUCKY
TENNESSEE
Clarksville
Las Vegas
Nashville
40
Paradise
Boulder City
25 mi.
25 mi.
Murfreesboro
CALIFORNIA
ARIZONA
50 mi.
50 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Las Vegas is also unique because it’s a “shift” town, according to Tim Lomax, a researcher at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Casinos time workers’ shifts so they don’t coincide with normal rush hours, he said, enabling workers to live in more affordable housing farther from the downtown Strip.
Map your getaway from America’s downtowns
There’s a reason why escaping a city like San Antonio is so much easier than leaving Philadelphia, which has roughly the same population. The pattern of access and how it changes throughout the day reflects a city’s geography, economy and history.
West Coast
Many West Coast cities are sandwiched by the Pacific Ocean and mountains to the east, squeezing traffic along a few big interstates that slow down at rush hour. And escaping downtown Seattle or San Francisco might require crossing a bridge.
Traffic patterns also reflect a city’s activity, Brozen said. At 10 p.m. in Los Angeles, people might be cruising down Sunset Boulevard, making the streets busier than they would be in a sleepier town. In that way, traffic is an expression of a thriving local economy.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
5
Lancaster
15
Los Angeles
Riverside
25 mi.
Pacific Ocean
Irvine
50 mi.
75 mi.
5
Longview
Wash.
Portland
Ore.
Salem
75 mi.
80
Yuba City
Sacramento
5
Oakland
Modesto
75 mi.
15
5
Oceanside
San Diego
Tijuana
Pacific Ocean
Ensenada
75 mi.
Santa Rosa
80
San Francisco
5
San Jose
Pacific Ocean
Santa Cruz
75 mi.
Everett
Seattle
Tacoma
90
5
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
5
5
Lancaster
Longview
15
Wash.
Portland
Los Angeles
Ore.
Riverside
25 mi.
Pacific Ocean
Irvine
Salem
50 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
15
5
80
Yuba City
Oceanside
San Diego
Sacramento
Tijuana
Pacific Ocean
5
Oakland
Ensenada
Modesto
75 mi.
75 mi.
Santa Rosa
80
Everett
San Francisco
Seattle
5
Tacoma
San Jose
Pacific Ocean
90
Santa Cruz
5
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
5
80
Yuba City
5
Lancaster
Longview
15
Wash.
Los Angeles
Portland
Sacramento
Ore.
Riverside
25 mi.
Pacific Ocean
Irvine
Salem
5
50 mi.
Oakland
Modesto
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
15
Santa Rosa
5
80
Everett
Oceanside
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
5
Tijuana
Tacoma
San Jose
90
Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Santa Cruz
Ensenada
5
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Southwest and west
There are huge sections of the country accessible in an hour from the downtowns of most Western cities. That’s partly due to the relative lack of lakes, oceans and mountains. But commuting patterns are also car-centric, with workers spread throughout the suburbs surrounding the city.
These areas are growing fast. Austin’s population, for example, grew about 20 percent between 2010 and 2016. That means there are more cars on the streets, but it also means more roads are built as people commute from farther away. Plus, cities in the West don’t always have the same public policy restrictions around development as older cities in the East and Midwest, Lomax said.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Sherman
35
30
Dallas
Ft. Worth
25 mi.
20
Cleburne
50 mi.
45
75 mi.
Fort Collins
76
25
Boulder
Denver
70
Colorado Springs
75 mi.
Huntsville
69
45
10
Houston
Galveston
Freeport
75 mi.
Nev.
15
Las Vegas
Boulder City
ARIZ.
CALIF.
75 mi.
17
Scottsdale
Phoenix
10
Gila Bend
8
75 mi.
10
San Marcos
San Antonio
37
35
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Fort Collins
Sherman
35
76
25
Boulder
30
Dallas
Denver
Ft. Worth
70
25 mi.
20
Cleburne
50 mi.
Colorado Springs
45
75 mi.
75 mi.
Nev.
Huntsville
69
15
45
10
Las Vegas
Houston
Boulder City
Galveston
ARIZ.
CALIF.
Freeport
75 mi.
75 mi.
17
10
San Marcos
Scottsdale
San Antonio
Phoenix
10
Gila Bend
8
37
35
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Fort Collins
Huntsville
Sherman
35
69
76
25
Boulder
45
30
10
Dallas
Denver
Houston
Ft. Worth
70
25 mi.
20
Galveston
Cleburne
50 mi.
Freeport
Colorado Springs
45
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Nev.
17
10
15
San Marcos
Scottsdale
Las Vegas
Phoenix
San Antonio
10
Boulder City
Gila Bend
ARIZ.
8
37
CALIF.
35
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Midwest
Chicago has some of the worst traffic in the country — it’s similar to older cities on the East Coast that weren’t built for cars. But the area accessible from other Midwestern downtowns hardly changes during the afternoon rush hour.
That’s partly because Midwestern cities are growing more slowly than cities farther west, putting their roads and highways under less pressure.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
94
Wis.
Lake Michigan
Ill.
Waukegan
Chicago
88
Aurora
MICH.
Ind.
90
25 mi.
80
50 mi.
55
65
57
75 mi.
75
Dayton
74
Cincinnati
Ind.
OHIO
Ky.
71
Frankfort
75 mi.
U.S.
75
Flint
CANADA
Detroit
Ann Arbor
Toledo
90
75 mi.
29
35
St. Joseph
Kansas City
Lawrence
70
Kan.
Mo.
75 mi.
35
St. Cloud
94
Wis.
Minneapolis
Minn.
75 mi.
55
Alton
70
St. Louis
64
44
Ill.
Mo.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
75
94
Dayton
Wis.
Lake Michigan
Ill.
Waukegan
74
Chicago
Cincinnati
Ind.
88
Aurora
MICH.
OHIO
Ind.
90
25 mi.
80
Ky.
50 mi.
71
55
Frankfort
65
57
75 mi.
75 mi.
U.S.
29
35
75
St. Joseph
Flint
CANADA
Detroit
Kansas City
Ann Arbor
Lawrence
70
Toledo
90
Kan.
Mo.
75 mi.
75 mi.
35
55
St. Cloud
94
Alton
Wis.
70
Minneapolis
St. Louis
64
44
Ill.
Minn.
Mo.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
75
94
U.S.
75
Dayton
Wis.
Flint
Lake Michigan
Ill.
Waukegan
CANADA
74
Chicago
Cincinnati
Detroit
Ann Arbor
Ind.
88
Aurora
MICH.
OHIO
Ind.
90
25 mi.
80
Ky.
50 mi.
71
Toledo
55
90
Frankfort
65
57
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
29
35
35
55
St. Cloud
St. Joseph
94
Alton
Wis.
70
Kansas City
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Lawrence
70
64
44
Ill.
Kan.
Mo.
Minn.
Mo.
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
South and southeast
Florida’s huge coastal cities are among the most difficult to escape at rush hour. Access around Miami, for example, is squeezed into an elongated slug-like shape by the Everglades to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
Traffic isn’t confined to the coast, however. Despite being landlocked, Atlanta turns into a parking lot for cars traveling north each afternoon. If you want to make a quick escape, heading south is your best bet.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
75
85
Athens
Atlanta
20
25 mi.
50 mi.
La Grange
75 mi.
Winston-Salem
Hickory
Charlotte
Rock Hill
85
S.C.
77
75 mi.
West
Palm Beach
95
75
Fort Lauderdale
Miami
Atlantic Ocean
75 mi.
Bowling Green
24
Ky.
Tenn.
Clarksville
Nashville
40
Murfreesboro
65
75 mi.
95
Daytona Beach
Atlantic
Ocean
Orlando
75
Kissimmee
4
75 mi.
Kissimmee
Gulf of
Mexico
Tampa
4
Sarasota
75
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Winston-Salem
75
Hickory
85
Athens
Atlanta
Charlotte
20
Rock Hill
85
25 mi.
S.C.
50 mi.
La Grange
77
75 mi.
75 mi.
West
Palm Beach
Bowling Green
95
24
Ky.
75
Tenn.
Fort Lauderdale
Clarksville
Miami
Nashville
Atlantic Ocean
40
Murfreesboro
65
75 mi.
75 mi.
95
Daytona Beach
Kissimmee
Gulf of
Atlantic
Mexico
Ocean
Tampa
Orlando
4
75
Kissimmee
4
Sarasota
75
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
West
Palm Beach
Winston-Salem
95
75
Hickory
85
75
Athens
Fort Lauderdale
Atlanta
Charlotte
Miami
20
Atlantic Ocean
Rock Hill
85
25 mi.
S.C.
50 mi.
La Grange
77
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Bowling Green
95
Daytona Beach
24
Ky.
Kissimmee
Atlantic
Gulf of
Tenn.
Clarksville
Mexico
Ocean
Nashville
Orlando
Tampa
4
75
40
Kissimmee
Murfreesboro
65
4
Sarasota
75
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Northeast
Because many East Coast cities developed well before the invention of the automobile, they weren’t designed for cars in the first place. That, along with the density of homes and businesses in the oldest part of the country, is evident in the congestion that develops at rush hour.
While New York has a well-developed subway system (despite its recent trouble) it’s the hardest city to escape by car. No matter what time you leave, you can’t make it much farther than 30 miles from Manhattan in an hour.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
York
Wilmington
PENN.
MD.
Baltimore
70
25 mi.
DEl.
Washington, D.C.
50 mi.
95
75 mi.
Concord
N.H.
93
Atlantic
Mass.
Ocean
Boston
Worcester
90
Conn.
R.I.
Providence
95
75 mi.
87
N.Y.
Conn.
New Haven
80
New York
495
78
Atlantic
Ocean
Trenton
N.J.
75 mi.
476
Newark
Trenton
Philadelphia
Penn.
N.J.
95
Md.
Atlantic City
75 mi.
Penn.
79
Youngstown
Pittsburgh
Johnstown
Ohio
70
76
Wheeling
W.VA.
75 mi.
Penn.
70
MD.
Winchester
Baltimore
Washington, D.C.
66
Va.
Fredericksburg
95
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
Concord
York
Wilmington
PENN.
N.H.
93
Atlantic
MD.
Mass.
Ocean
Baltimore
Boston
Worcester
70
90
25 mi.
DEl.
Washington, D.C.
Conn.
R.I.
Providence
50 mi.
95
95
75 mi.
75 mi.
87
N.Y.
476
Newark
Conn.
New Haven
Trenton
80
Philadelphia
New York
495
Penn.
78
N.J.
95
Atlantic
Ocean
Trenton
Md.
Atlantic City
N.J.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Penn.
Penn.
79
70
MD.
Youngstown
Winchester
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Washington, D.C.
Johnstown
66
Ohio
Va.
70
76
Wheeling
Fredericksburg
W.VA.
95
75 mi.
75 mi.
Area accessible in one hour at
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
10 p.m.
87
N.Y.
Concord
Conn.
York
Wilmington
PENN.
New Haven
N.H.
93
Atlantic
MD.
Mass.
Ocean
80
Baltimore
Boston
New York
495
Worcester
70
78
90
25 mi.
DEl.
Atlantic
Washington, D.C.
Conn.
R.I.
Ocean
Trenton
Providence
50 mi.
95
N.J.
95
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Penn.
Penn.
79
476
Newark
70
MD.
Youngstown
Winchester
Trenton
Baltimore
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington, D.C.
Johnstown
66
Penn.
Ohio
N.J.
Va.
70
95
76
Wheeling
Fredericksburg
Md.
Atlantic City
W.VA.
95
75 mi.
75 mi.
75 mi.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly labeled Interstate 15 on the map of Los Angeles.
About this story
Travel time predictions are from HERE, and are calculated using departure times of 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday, July 28. Predictions are calculated for a 15-minute departure window and use up to three years of historical speed data.
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