
Bad Roads Land Washington Among the Worst In the USA
A new study ranks Washngton with the 6th worst roads in the country.
The rankings analyzed road condition data from 2012 to 2022 from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, specifically looking at the percentage of total miles within each state that are deemed “unacceptable”
Washington ranks sixth with over 29% of its roads below standards, totaling 5,695 miles.
Topping the list with the worst roads in the nation is Rhode Island, where almost half of the roads were considered in unacceptable condition.

Idaho was ranked as having the best-maintained roads in the USA, with just 249 miles of bad highways or 5.5% of the roads classified as “unacceptable” within the state.
Just over a fifth of the nation’s roads are listed “unacceptable” according to the study's authors, Junk Car Medics.
Rank | State | Total Miles of Road Within State | Total Miles of Acceptable Road Within State | Total Miles of Unacceptable Road Within State | Average Percentage of Unacceptable Roads (2012-2022) |
1. | Rhode Island | 1,182 | 615 | 568 | 48% |
2. | New Jersey | 3,868 | 2,100 | 1,767 | 45.69% |
3. | Hawaii | 1,546 | 916 | 629 | 40.72% |
4. | Connecticut | 6,343 | 3,782 | 2,561 | 40.38% |
5. | California | 19,736 | 12,071 | 7,664 | 38.84% |
6. | Washington | 19,272 | 13,577 | 5,695 | 29.55% |
7. | New Mexico | 12,021 | 8,539 | 3,482 | 28.96% |
8. | Massachusetts | 5,328 | 3,800 | 1,528 | 28.68% |
9. | Mississippi | 21,783 | 15,716 | 6,068 | 27.86% |
10. | Pennsylvania | 26,506 | 19,177 | 7,329 | 27.65% |
11. | Wisconsin | 28,285 | 20,795 | 7,490 | 26.48% |
12. | New York | 26,998 | 19,926 | 7,073 | 26.20% |
13. | West Virginia | 3,021 | 2,233 | 788 | 26.08% |
14. | Louisiana | 14,708 | 11,032 | 3,676 | 24.99% |
15. | Missouri | 30,786 | 23,420 | 7,366 | 23.93% |
16. | Oklahoma | 14,267 | 10,894 | 3,373 | 23.64% |
17. | Maine | 6,297 | 4,865 | 1,432 | 22.74% |
18. | Maryland | 8,174 | 6,322 | 1,852 | 22.66% |
19. | Colorado | 16,234 | 12,627 | 3,607 | 22.22% |
20. | Alaska | 3,618 | 2,846 | 772 | 21.34% |
21. | New Hampshire | 3,552 | 2,817 | 736 | 20.71% |
22. | Illinois | 31,373 | 25,161 | 6,212 | 19.80% |
23. | Vermont | 1,529 | 1,232 | 297 | 19.40% |
24. | Utah | 8,293 | 6,797 | 1,496 | 18.04% |
25. | Delaware | 1,583 | 1,308 | 275 | 17.37% |
26. | Virginia | 19,199 | 15,883 | 3,316 | 17.27% |
27. | Arizona | 16,474 | 13,794 | 2,680 | 16.27% |
28. | Michigan | 28,395 | 23,938 | 4,457 | 15.70% |
29. | South Carolina | 21,169 | 17,916 | 3,253 | 15.37% |
30. | Ohio | 29,764 | 25,452 | 4,312 | 14.49% |
31. | Arkansas | 6,783 | 5,803 | 981 | 14.46% |
32. | Indiana | 12,557 | 10,810 | 1,747 | 13.91% |
33. | Texas | 89,229 | 77,335 | 11,894 | 13.33% |
34. | Iowa | 5,110 | 4,480 | 629 | 12.32% |
35. | Minnesota | 33,144 | 29,080 | 4,064 | 12.26% |
36. | South Dakota | 14,661 | 12,885 | 1,776 | 12.11% |
37. | North Carolina | 23,405 | 20,571 | 2,834 | 12.11% |
38. | Nevada | 7,522 | 6,630 | 893 | 11.87% |
39. | Florida | 27,349 | 24,286 | 3,063 | 11.20% |
40. | Oregon | 8,717 | 7,759 | 958 | 10.99% |
41. | Montana | 12,736 | 11,366 | 1,370 | 10.75% |
42. | Kansas | 13,374 | 12,010 | 1,364 | 10.20% |
43. | Alabama | 11,309 | 10,262 | 1,047 | 9.25% |
44. | Kentucky | 13,231 | 12,063 | 1,168 | 8.83% |
45. | Wyoming | 6,916 | 6,342 | 574 | 8.30% |
46. | Nebraska | 10,050 | 9,291 | 760 | 7.56% |
47. | Georgia | 31,339 | 29,380 | 1,959 | 6.25% |
48. | North Dakota | 14,106 | 13,255 | 851 | 6.04% |
49. | Tennessee | 5,128 | 4,824 | 304 | 5.92% |
50. | Idaho | 4,512 | 4,263 | 249 | 5.52% |
N/A | United States | 786,013 | 627,760 | 158,253 | 20.13% |
Sources:
The 6 Best Washington Backroads for a Relaxing Road Trip
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