New 2026 Study Ranks Indiana One of the Five Best States to Drive In

If you’ve ever gripped the steering wheel while navigating rush hour or muttered a few choice words waiting to get through a construction zone, what you’re about to see might surprise you. WalletHub has released its annual Best & Worst States to Drive in for 2026, and Indiana is once again near the top. The Hoosier State has slipped two spots from last year, but it still ranked the 5^th best state in the country to drive in.

How WalletHub Ranked The Best States To Drive

WalletHub compared all 50 states using 31 different indicators that affect our daily drive. They looked at everything from cost of ownership and maintenance to traffic, safety, infrastructure, and even access to vehicles and repair services. Toss in things like gas prices, congestion, parking, weather, and car theft, and you get a pretty comprehensive picture of what it’s really like to drive from Point A to Point B.

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Now, as someone who’s spent plenty of time driving in both Indianapolis and Evansville, I’ll admit I did a double-take. Anyone who’s tangled with I-465 during rush hour or crept along the Lloyd Expressway might feel a little skeptical. But I guess the numbers don’t lie, even when our personal driving trauma says otherwise.

How Indiana Scored In Key Driving Categories

According to WalletHub’s data, here’s how the Hoosier State scored in those key areas:

• Cost of Ownership & Maintenance: #10 — not bad when you consider what drivers pay in other states.
• Traffic & Infrastructure: #17 — apparently our orange barrels aren’t scaring off the analysts.
• Safety: #32 — okay, room for improvement here.
• Access to Vehicles & Maintenance: #17 — solid access when something goes clunk under the hood.

Would Analysts Change Their Mind After Driving Evansville?

Taken together, the report makes a pretty convincing case that Indiana drivers have it better than we might think. But I would still like to invite anyone from WalletHub to come drive around Evansville and see if they want to revise those results!

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Curious how other states stack up? Check out the FULL REPORT for all of the edge-of-your-seat details. Or to get a broader view of the results, just scroll over the map below to see each state's rank.