Top 25 Most Dangerous US Metro Areas for Pedestrians (2024)

This dataset ranks the 25 most congested U.S. metros by their Pedestrian Danger-Per-Congestion Index, revealing how traffic volume and pedestrian safety intersect. Cities like Tampa, New Orleans, and Phoenix top the list, showing high pedestrian fatality rates despite lighter congestion, while metros such as New York City, Chicago, and Boston record heavy congestion but far lower risk per hour of traffic delay. The results highlight an eightfold difference in pedestrian danger between the safest and most dangerous metros.

Methodology: We ranked the 25 most congested U.S. metros using INRIX’s 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard (hours lost in traffic per driver). Each metro was then paired with its state’s pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents (2023) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). We calculated a Pedestrian Danger-Per-Congestion Index by dividing the state’s pedestrian fatality rate by the metro’s congestion hours: Index = Pedestrian Fatality Rate ÷ Hours Lost in Traffic Higher index values indicate greater pedestrian danger per unit of congestion. State-level fatality rates are used as proxies for metros. **Sources: *INRIX. 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard (released March 2025). *NHTSA. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), Traffic Safety Facts 2024 Overview (Publication 813710).
Chart: Chaikin Trial GroupSource: Chaikin Trial Group Download imageCreated with Datawrapper