Drivers spend 88 hours in traffic a year in this California city. Which one?

Traffic congestion can be frustrating, especially for California drivers, and rightfully so.

One city has the worst rush-hour traffic in the Golden State.

Roads in and around Los Angeles are so snarled the city was once again listed among the worst in the U.S. for traffic severity, according to a recent report from the online gambling website Hello Millions.

The report ranked 200 cities using data compiled by the mobility analytics firm Inrix.

Just how bad is the traffic?

Drivers in Los Angeles lose an average of 88 hours to traffic annually, well above the national average of 43 hours, according to the Inrix report.

Los Angeles was ranked third, just behind New York City and Chicago, which were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the Inrix findings.

Why is Los Angeles traffic so bad?

Home to 18.5 million people in the metropolitan area, the most significant impact “is that morning commuters go straight to work or school,” according to researchers from the University of Southern California who used Caltrans and Metro data to study Los Angeles traffic congestion in 2018.

The report also suggested that “in the evening, people often run errands or go to dinner, staying on the road and clogging lanes.”

Los Angeles has historically been ranked among the worst cities for traffic jams.

Consumer Affairs ranked Los Angeles second behind Washington, D.C., in July among the five cities with the worst traffic in America.

The consumer research website said the city “is never quite dense enough to make walking and public transportation effective, but it’s never sufficiently low-density to make driving a pleasant experience, either.”

Where did other California cities rank?

The next highest-ranked California city in the Inrix ranking was San Francisco, at No. 15, followed by Santa Cruz and San Rafael, both tied at No. 30.

Which U.S. cities have the longest commute times?

According to Hello Millions, here are the U.S. cities that have the worst traffic:

1. New York City

2. Chicago

3. Los Angeles

4. Boston

5. Philadelphia

6. Miami

7. Houston

8. Atlanta

9. Seattle and Nashville

10. Washington, D.C.

How did Inrix come up with its findings?

To determine the cities with the worst traffic, Inrix used data from in-vehicle GPS apps. The firm then measured hours lost to congestion by comparing travel time during peak commute periods to when there was little traffic.