Dense states win on convenience
New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island benefit from high densities of gas stations or repair shops, making it easier to recover when a trip needs a pit stop.
Best states for road trips
Where drivers get the safest, smoothest and best supported trips
This 2026 state ranking compares road quality, crash safety, gas access, auto repair density, scenic byways and campground access to reveal where U.S. road trips are most likely to go right.
Interactive ranking
Slide from best to worst
Drag the car across the highway to compare every state from the top result to the bottom of the list.
Key findings
What the road trip data shows
The ranking highlights how convenience, safety and infrastructure can change the road trip experience.
Good pavement is only one factor
Kansas has the highest share of acceptable roads at 97%, but finished 47th because the final score also rewards safety, amenities, scenic byways and campground access.
Safety lifts several Northeast states
New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts recorded the lowest road fatality rates per 100,000 vehicles in the dataset.
Outdoor access can shift the ranking
Maryland, West Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey and Hawaii scored strongly for National Park Service campground access relative to state area.
Top performers
Top 10 states for road trips
The ten best-scoring states in the full road trip ranking.
Study methodology
How the states were scored
Each state received a percentile rank across six metrics, then those ranks were averaged into the final score.
This study ranks the best states for road trips using six metrics: percentage of acceptable roads, auto repair shops per 1,000 km², road fatalities per 100,000 vehicles, scenic byways per 10,000 km², gas stations per 1,000 km² and National Park Service campgrounds per 10,000 km².
Higher values were treated as better for every metric except road fatalities, where lower values were treated as better. The individual percentile ranks were averaged to produce each final road trip score.
Road conditionBTS, 2024View source
Auto repair shopsU.S. Census Bureau, 2023View source
FatalitiesNHTSA FARS, 2024View source
Scenic bywaysFederal Highway Administration, 2026View source
Gas stationsU.S. Census Bureau, 2023View source
NPS campgroundsNational Park Service, 2026View source
Complete ranking
Full state data table
Scan all 50 states and compare the metrics behind the final road trip score.
| Rank | State | Score | Acceptable roads | Repair shops | Fatalities | Scenic byways | Gas stations | NPS campgrounds |
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