Maps, Transportation

What Are the Best States for Summer Road Trips?

Despite gas prices that are again on the uptick, sixty-four percent of Americans still plan to take road trips this summer. Consumers looking for ideal destinations may want to take a look at a survey that WalletHub recently released of the best states to visit on summer road trips, taking into account costs, safety, road conditions, and available activities in each of the 50 states. Darker blue states on the map are those that scored best and the lighter blue states are those that ranked lower.

Source: WalletHub

CNBC also compiled a list of ten destination towns and cities throughout the United States. Most of the destinations corresponded with WalletHub’s top twenty states to visit including: Seaside, OR; Steamboat Springs, CO; Portland, ME; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Bar Harbor, ME; and Grand Teton National Park, WY.

A few additional factors that road-trippers may want to be aware of are the states with: the lowest average gas prices, the lowest average cost of car repairs, the lowest price for camping, fewest car thefts per capita, the highest percentage of national parkland, and the states with the most scenic byways.

There are a few interesting surprises on the list – popular beach destinations like Rhode Island and Delaware place #48 and #50 on the list (this may be due to the high cost and traffic associated with visiting these destinations). Places that tend to be very hot in the summer, such as Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, are in the top ten, another possible surprise to would-be road trippers.

Check out WalletHub’s full list below:

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	‘Costs’ Rank	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Activities’ Rank
1	Wyoming	58.75	1	19	22
2	North Carolina	56.24	11	28	7
3	Minnesota	56.13	31	1	19
4	Texas	55.46	15	34	6
5	Florida	54.62	20	48	2
6	Louisiana	54.40	10	37	10
7	Washington	53.74	43	18	4
8	New York	53.72	49	4	3
9	Utah	53.44	34	8	14
10	Colorado	53.06	17	27	18
11	Oregon	52.41	40	12	8
12	California	52.36	47	41	1
13	Illinois	52.32	33	11	21
14	Virginia	52.29	35	15	16
15	South Dakota	52.16	6	22	33
16	Maine	52.05	32	2	32
17	Nebraska	51.52	9	10	39
18	Georgia	51.27	7	36	27
19	Michigan	51.23	21	24	26
20	Nevada	51.22	30	29	12
21	Arizona	50.98	14	45	13
22	Wisconsin	50.94	26	9	31
23	Ohio	50.03	38	25	15
24	New Hampshire	49.97	22	5	37
25	Massachusetts	49.65	41	13	20
26	Pennsylvania	48.92	44	17	9
27	Idaho	48.62	39	16	25
28	Tennessee	48.19	18	35	30
29	South Carolina	48.15	5	50	24
30	New Jersey	48.07	37	23	28
31	North Dakota	48.00	16	7	45
32	Vermont	47.92	28	3	50
33	Maryland	47.83	42	31	11
34	Missouri	47.09	12	46	29
35	Iowa	46.88	27	14	38
36	West Virginia	46.56	8	30	47
37	Oklahoma	46.24	13	42	36
38	Mississippi	46.14	2	38	44
39	Montana	46.13	19	40	34
40	Arkansas	46.08	3	44	41
41	Alabama	45.87	4	43	40
42	Kansas	45.67	25	20	46
43	Alaska	45.62	45	47	5
44	Kentucky	45.60	24	32	35
45	Indiana	45.44	29	21	43
46	New Mexico	45.28	23	49	23
47	Hawaii	40.70	50	33	17
48	Delaware	40.51	36	39	48
49	Connecticut	38.62	46	26	42
50	Rhode Island	38.58	48	6	49