Which Washington city is the most stressful to drive in?
Nov 8, 2022, 12:35 PM | Updated: 12:46 pm

The downtown Seattle skyline is viewed from a bridge over Interstate 5 in the University District. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
The city of Seattle ranks number five nationally as one of the most stressful cities to drive in.
According to a study from HiRoad Insurance, drivers in Portland, Ore. complain the most about driving more than any other city. An estimated 47.6% of tweets about driving showed some level of stress in Portland. Seattle comes in with the fifth-most stressed drivers, with 45.4% of tweets indicating anxiety.
Washington state has some of the most aggressive drivers in the nation, according to study
The anxiety levels were measured through a program called TensiStrength, an AI tool that detects stress levels in short pieces of text based on indicators like word choice and punctuation.
HiRoad says “Based on 1.3 million tweets related to driving by people who are geotagged in the USA. Tweets were measured as a percentage of ‘stressed’ tweets according to TensiStrength. Analysis performed in May 2022.”
Seattle also is ranked seventh for the worst traffic in the country according to the study.
Here are the top 10:
- Portland, OR 47.6%
- Chicago, IL 46%
- New York City, NY 45.7%
- Washington, DC 45.6%
- Seattle, WA 45.4%
- Philadelphia, PA 45%
- San Francisco, CA 44%
- Oakland, CA 43.8%
- Phoenix, AZ 43.2%
- Providence, RI 42.9%
So, what are drivers stressed out about on Twitter?
- Rain
- Bad weather
- Snow
- Drivers using cell phones
- Traffic
- Fog
- Potholes
- Cyclists
- Drivers speeding
- Drivers swerving
Part of the study also revealed the most ‘whined about highways’ in the country, with Interstate 90 in Chicago being the most stressful.
You can read more about the study here.