April showers bring May flowers. There’s no equally compelling rhyme for what causes potholes to bloom on US roads, but winter snow and ice are significant contributing factors. Both the de-icing salts and the machinery used to remove snow cause serious damage to our nation’s infrastructure. AAA said The damage caused by potholes cost American drivers $15 billion between 2011 and 2015.
But just as stories about America’s crumbling infrastructure are widespread, there is surprisingly little information available about how common pothole problems are. Just ask about any US driver and they’ll likely tell you their area has a pothole problem, and they’ll probably be right. Contextualizing those anecdotes is a bit tricky. The Clunker Junker got back to this October 2021 with some help from social media. QuoteWizard switched to another analytics tool: Google.
“QuoteWizard analyzed search data for pothole-related complaints and repair Author Nick VinZant said in the analysis of each state from 2004.
The team ranked all 50 US states and the top 50 US cities; If you’re expecting a listing that is populated almost exclusively by the Rust Belt and the states with worse economies, the results might surprise you. Here are the 10 worst states for potholes and the cities that made them there, at least as far as Google searches can show – consider these unscientific results a mere one. sugar salt granules:
10 – New York
Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York State made the list. It’s packed with expensive infrastructure and takes time to maintain, meaning unrepaired roads can be common. Surprisingly, the NYC metro area didn’t appear in the study’s top 50 cities for pothole problems. Buffalo comes in at 20th and the state capital Albany at 25th.
9 – Pennsylvania
The State of Keystone comes in at 9th thanks to the strength of a few centrally-run cities, but maybe not in the order you’d expect. Coal country comes out on top, with Scranton landing at number 23 on the city list. Pittsburgh registers next at #29followed by Philly at 33 and Johnstown at 38.
8 – Tennessee
Tennessee’s complaints seem to be much less focused than other states’. Only Memphis appears on the list of the 50 worst US cities, but the state still pulls in a pretty solid result.
7 – Illinois
Now we talk. Illinois anchors the western edge of America’s Rust Belt, so this shouldn’t be any kind of surprise. However, only two localities appeared in the top 50 worst cities: Champaign (#32) and Chicago (#41).
6 – Massachusetts
Springfield may not fall within what many consider to be the normal boundaries of the Rust Belt, but it boasts the same old, underused industrial infrastructure found in many other entries on the list. That earned it 8th place on the list of worst cities; Boston didn’t register until it dropped to 39th place.
5 – Ohio
Ohio is home to four of the 50 jurisdictions with the most potholes: Toledo (#26), Cincinnati (#35), Cleveland (#47), and Youngstown (#49). Probably all the rocks they always sing about can be used to fill some holes.
4 – Nebraska
Yes, Nebraska. The state has two famous autonomous cities – Omaha and Lincoln – and both make the list of the top US cities for potholes. Omaha registered in 10th place and the capital in 44th place.
3 – Michigan
The Water-Winter Wonderland becomes the Land of Warping Washboards when the weather turns to spring. Lansing is the first city to appear on the list of the worst US cities for potholes at number 13. The state’s two largest cities – Detroit and Grand Rapids – come in at #17 and respectively. #24.
2 – Indiana
Sorry, Chicagoans. You don’t get a chance to blame Gary, Indiana, today. You’ll have to settle for one of the four other Indiana municipalities shortlisted: Lafayette (#4), Indianapolis (#9), South Bend-Elkhart (#28), and Ft. Wayne (#34).
1 – Washington
Yes, Washington. We were surprised too, but our Seattleite residents assure us that there is at least some kernel of truth to this outcome. The state is home to three of the five worst US cities in QuoteWizardRank of: Yakima (#first), Spokane (#3) and Seattle (#5).
Honorable mention
Several entries on the list of the top 50 US cities for pothole problems were not found in the states with the most pothole problems in the United States. We want to thank Grand Junction, Colorado (#2), Burlington, Vermont (#6) and Reno, Nevada (#7). Colorado tests the average death rate (#25) among US states, while Vermont ranks close to the top (#13) and Nevada nears the bottom (#49) when it comes to death claims pothole.
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