new praise for plano
North Dallas neighbor surprises as top 10 best U.S. city to drive in
Once you head out of the city, driving's a little less of a nightmare.
Dallasites can agree that there's nothing worse than getting stuck in traffic, but one surprising suburb is pulling through as one of the most enjoyable cities to drive in: The North Dallas neighbor of Plano.
That honor is being bestowed by personal finance website WalletHub in its new study ranking the "Best & Worst Cities to Drive In (2024)." The report examined 100 of the largest U.S. cities to determine their "driver friendliness" using 30 metrics across four key dimensions: Costs for vehicle ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and vehicle and maintenance accessibility (repair shops, car washes, gas stations, parking garages, etc.).
In all, 13 Texas cities made it on WalletHub's list, and six are located in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Raleigh, North Carolina was crowned the No. 1 best U.S. city to drive in, earning a score of 63.92 points, while Plano ranked No. 10 with a score of 60.52 points.
Plano stood out for its overall "safety" ranking, earning No. 13 nationwide, which encompassed factors like the likelihood of having a vehicle accident in the city versus the national average; the traffic fatality rate per 100,000 residents; the rate of car thefts; among others.
Here's how WalletHub broke down the rest of Plano's rank across the three remaining categories:
- No. 28 – Access to Vehicles & Maintenance rank
- No. 37 – Traffic & Infrastructure rank
- No. 40 – Cost of Ownership & Maintenance rank
- No. 1 – Raleigh, North Carolina
- No. 2 – Boise, Idaho
- No. 3 – Corpus Christi, Texas
- No. 4 – Greensboro, North Carolina
- No. 5 – Jacksonville, Florida
- No. 6 – Orlando, Florida
- No. 7 – Scottsdale, Arizona
- No. 8 – Wichita, Kansas
- No. 9 – Tampa, Florida
- No. 10 – Plano, Texas
The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.
