DENVER — We might think that Denver traffic is bad but really, how congested is traffic?
The traffic data company TomTom released its 2025 TomTom traffic index that ranks cities globally based on how bad traffic is. Denver ranks 20th for traffic congestion in the nation, four spots worse than last year when Denver ranked 24th. The survey also shows many other mobility statistics for each city compared to 2024. Denver’s average congestion level for 2025 was 37.6%, a 1.5% increase from 2024.
The average travel time in 2025 going 6 miles was 13 minutes, 25 seconds. That is 12 seconds more than 2024. The average rush hour speed in 2025 was 21.9 mph, about 0.5 mph slower than 2024.
One of the most interesting stats is the most congested day on Denver roads in 2025, according to TomTom, was Thursday, June 26. On that day the congestion level was reported as 136% above normal. Why? The only serious crash reported was a late evening fatal motorcycle wreck along southbound lanes of I-25 at Park Ave West. All traffic was diverted to I-70. Other from that, I can’t pinpoint any other reason. I looked through our newsroom stories and nothing else stands out. I was off work that week so I didn’t have anything on my X (Twitter) feed for reference.
Colorado Springs was the only other city on the TomTom list coming in at 54th most congested in the nation. The top five most congested cities in the nation are Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco, New York and Miami.
By the way, globally Denver ranks 269th and Colorado Springs ranks 432nd.
