Ask any metro Atlanta resident about traffic, and they'll tell you the same thing: Traffic in the area is a nightmare. 

A new study published by Texas A&M's Transportation Institute is proving them right. According to the institute's 2025 Urban Mobility Report, Atlanta ranked ninth among the top 101 urban areas in the country for commuter delay last year.

According to the researchers, Atlanta experiences 6 hours of congestion each day, totaling 261,228,000 hours. That's 8% more than in the 2023 report. An average commuter wasted 87 hours sitting in traffic. That's a lot of time waiting for the car in front of you to move.

A trip that should take an Atlanta driver 20 minutes actually requires them to plan for 39 minutes to make sure they arrive at their destination on time, the study found.

The worst time for congestion was exactly when you'd think: rush hour. The time around 4 and 5 p.m. on weekdays was when the study found that a large number of delays appeared.

While the volume of traffic has returned since the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting travel patterns have made delays go beyond the usual rush hour period.

"The numbers show more traffic than we've ever seen, but also a different kind of traffic," says David Schrank, TTI senior research scientist and lead author of the study. "Hybrid work capabilities, online shopping, and other changes in our daily lives have reshaped when and where congestion happens. This can create more unpredictability and make travel harder to plan."

If you think Atlanta is bad, be thankful you don't live in Los Angeles. The West Coast city took the top spot for traffic delays, followed by New York City and Chicago.

You can see the full study here.