Ohio Named to Top 10 Best States to Drive in, Michigan One of the Worst

When winter weather sweeps through the Midwest, it isn't much fun to drive for anyone. That said, it's not the full picture when determining where the best and worst places to drive are.

Just being on the road is already a gamble, even without all of the added elements involved. Each region of the country has its own to deal with. Some southern states deal with flooding more than we deal with snow up here, for example.

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When you first think of places that it's tough to drive in, you likely think of the weather, then other drivers and maybe even the likelihood of running into wildlife. Those are all valid concerns for drivers, but financial and infrastructure aspects play just as big of a role.

A recent study from WalletHub considered those factors when ranking all 50 states from worst to best to drive in for 2024. In essence, the study focused on which states cater to drivers the best rather than which drivers are better or worse in subjective environments. In the rankings, Ohio landed in the top 10 while Michigan landed near the bottom.

For Ohio, its high ranking is due to the low cost and accessibility of vehicle ownership and maintenance costs, both of which ranked in the top 10 nationally. Ohio, much like many of the states in the top 10, did struggle with overall traffic infrastructure and safety. Ohio's safety ranking actually ranked as 12th worst in the nation.

Michigan, on the other hand, ranked as one of the worst states, ranking 31st overall. Michigan, naturally, did rank highly in vehicle accessibility and vehicle maintenance, but this is the lowest-weighted factor in the study. In every other category, Michigan hovered around the 30th overall ranking.

The lowest ranking for Michigan was in the cost of vehicle ownership and maintenance, which isn't overly surprising with the cost of car insurance rates in the state. Traffic infrastructure ranked 30th, so maybe the "damn roads" are getting fixed little by little.

The entire study from WalletHub can be seen here.