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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