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These 2 notorious Houston highways are the most congested in Texas

Houston traffic congestion bumper to bumper

No surprise that Loop 610 is the most congested highway in Texas.

Photo courtesy of ABC13

Houston drivers know traffic can be a nightmare, so it's no surprise the city now holds the top two spots for the busiest freeways in the state, according to a report by Texas A&M's Transportation Institute.

The 610 Loop from I-10 to I-69 in Uptown is listed as the most congested in Texas with 1.6 million wasted hours in traffic per mile. Texas A&M researchers calculated an annual congestion cost (associated with fuel consumption). The amount lost for drivers on the 610 Loop is estimated at $119,397,248.

The Southwest Freeway from the 610 Loop to Highway 288 comes in second. Its annual wasted hours in traffic is 1,372,657, while its annual congestion cost comes out to $146,531,409.

This is the first time in six years a metro area has held the top two spots.

To generate the report, researchers studied almost 1,800 sections of road from all of the Texas urban areas (with populations over 50,000), covering about 10,000 miles of roadway.

Houston has been dinged when it comes to traffic for many reasons, including for having three of the most dangerous highways in America.

Despite that, Houston still doesn't have the worst traffic in the state. A report from August shows that honor goes to a neighbor of ours to the north.

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For more on this story, including video, visit our content partner ABC13.

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flag-waving news

Texas drops on new list of most patriotic states in U.S.

Photo by Ray Shrewsberry on Unsplash

Texas ranked a dismal No. 45 this year after previously ranking as the 36th most patriotic state in 2024.

This may come as a surprise for many Texans, but the Lone Star State is far from being the most patriotic place in America, according to a new report.

WalletHub's latest study ranking the "Most Patriotic States in America" for 2025 placed Texas near the bottom of the list as No. 45, marking a significant nine-place drop from its rank as the 36th most patriotic state in 2024.

According to the findings, the three most patriotic states in America are Virginia (No. 1), Montana (No. 2), and Vermont (No. 3). Colorado (No. 4) and Oregon (No. 5) round out the top five most passionate, flag-waving states in 2025.

Texas flopped toward the bottom mainly due to its civic engagement rank (No. 47), but it did perform fairly well in the military engagement category (No. 13).

Texas has the third-highest average number of military enlistees, the report found, but it had the second-lowest percentage of adults who voted in the 2024 presidential election.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said patriotism can't be defined by geographic region or by which states fly the most American flags. Rather, true patriotism can be found in states with high voter turnouts, high volunteer rates, and more.

“The most patriotic states have a lot of residents who serve or have served in the armed forces, high voter turnouts during elections, and a high share of the population volunteering with national or local organizations," Lupo said.

States like Virginia and Montana ranked at the top of the list due to their high voter turnout rates during the 2024 presidential election, plus high volunteer rates in local or national organizations. Virginia is also home to the third-highest population of active-duty military personnel per 100,000 civilians, and there are 27 military bases in the state.

The report further acknowledges that many Americans may not be feeling very patriotic this year because of "societal issues" that span from "relentless high inflation" to tragedies like mass shootings.

"Many people may find it hard to celebrate a country where countless people are struggling and frequent violence persists," the report's author wrote. "However, an expression of love for fellow citizens is patriotic in itself."

Joining Texas among the least patriotic American states are Florida (No. 46), Alabama (No. 47), Louisiana (No. 48), New York (No. 49), and Arkansas (No. 50).

The top 10 most patriotic states in America are:

No. 1 – Virginia
No. 2 – Montana
No. 3 – Vermont
No. 4 – Colorado
No. 5 – Oregon
No. 6 – Washington
No. 7 – North Dakota
No. 8 – Maryland
No. 9 – Minnesota
No. 10 – New Hampshire

The report analyzed all 50 states across 13 "indicators of patriotism" based on military and civic engagement, including factors such as the rate of veterans living in each state for every 1,000 civilians; the share of adults who voted in the 2024 presidential election and the 2020 primary elections; the number of AmeriCorps volunteers per capita, and more.

texas wallethub reports patriotism