HOUSTON – Houston drivers are spending more time than ever stuck in traffic, with commuters losing more than 3.75 days to rush hour congestion last year, marking a two-hour increase from the previous year.
The city’s overall congestion level has risen to 29.5%, up 0.6 percentage points from 2024.
The findings, revealed in a recent TomTom traffic study, align with separate research from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which estimated Houston drivers spent about 3.2 days in traffic.
A typical 6-mile drive in Houston now takes 10 minutes and 19 seconds, five seconds longer than last year.
The situation becomes particularly challenging during evening rush hour, when average speeds plummet to 19.3 mph amid 86.6% congestion levels.
“When you have over six million people all trying to move around in a handful of counties, they’re going to create some congestion,” says David Schrank, senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
The situation could intensify as Houston’s population is projected to reach between six and seven million residents by 2025.
However, there’s a silver lining for Houston commuters: Texas cities have experienced slower congestion growth compared to their national peers, thanks to aggressive infrastructure investment.
The worst traffic day in 2025 was recorded on Wednesday, January 15, when the average congestion level reached 43%, peaking at 77% during the evening commute.
“We are lucky that this problem is in Texas,” Schrank says, noting that without the state’s extensive construction efforts, funded partly by oil revenue, the increase in traffic delays could have been significantly worse.
The city’s car-dependent design, characteristic of post-World War II Sunbelt cities, presents unique challenges for implementing public transit solutions.
While downtown Houston has successfully connected several activity centers through light rail, expanding transit options to serve the sprawling metropolitan area remains complicated and costly.
“The one thing about automobile usage is it’s the most flexible,” Schrank explains. “When you start working with transit, it’s a fixed guideway. This rail is gonna go on here and that’s where it’s gonna go.”
Despite ongoing construction causing short-term inconvenience, transportation officials remain optimistic about long-term improvements.
Major projects, including the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), are expected to provide significant relief, though completion may take several years.
For now, Houston commuters will need to maintain patience as they navigate through what Schrank calls a familiar sight in Texas cities: the ubiquitous orange construction barrel, a symbol of both progress and persistence in the state’s battle against traffic congestion.