This City Has The 'Worst Roads In America'

If you're a daily road warrior who braves highway and byways regularly, there's a good chance you've exasperatedly muttered something like, "These have to be the worst roads in America." No matter where you live, it always seems like they need repair. In the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) 2025 "Report Card for America's Infrastructure," the country merely earned a "C," which is actually an improvement from the "C-" it received in 2021. 

The report examines 18 categories, ranging from ports and dams to aviation, stormwater, and roads. U.S. ports received a high grade of "B," but the roads received a woeful "D+." The ASCE claims that approximately 39% of major roads in the country are in either "poor or mediocre condition." Granted, that is an improvement from 2020, when that number was 43%. Nevertheless, the suboptimal state of our nation's roads costs drivers an average of $1,400 a year in vehicle repairs and lost time, according to the report.

U.S. thoroughfares aren't great overall, but those in one specific city in the Sunshine State of Florida (already rife with weird traffic laws) are far worse. Orlando is known as the "Theme Park Capital of the World," and to get to many of them, you need to traverse its many streets. Unfortunately, it's also been dubbed as having the worst roads in all of America by Pep Boys, thereby earning the rather cheeky nickname of the "Tragic Kingdom."

In 2025, Pep Boys conducted its first "Worst Roads in America" survey, ranking 30 metro areas based on the highest rates of road-related vehicle repairs. One caveat is that this report considers only data collected from areas where Pep Boys has stores, so it isn't an official assessment of street quality. Still, the company does have over 800 stores in 35 states. Approximately 80 are located in Central Florida, making it one of its largest markets.

According to the report, Orlando took the number-one spot due to "higher-than-average rates of alignment and suspension work, along with frequent single-tire replacements." Pep Boy's regional spokesman, Jean-Pierre Issa, told the Orlando Sentinel that heat routinely softens up the asphalt and seasonal heavy rains speed up cracking that leads to massive potholes. The state's subtropical climate, hurricanes, continuous commute and tourist traffic, along with soil conditions and construction, all contributed to road damage. Suspension and tires bore the brunt of repair work because, as Issa pointed out, they are "the first line of defense between the vehicle and the pavement."

Orlando isn't the only Floridian "winner" on this list. Five of the top 10 spots include Panama City (#3), Tampa–St. Petersburg (#5), West Palm Beach (#7), and Tallahassee (#9). While Pep Boys didn't share internal data on repair costs, Issa confirmed that between September 2024 and September 2025, drivers in Orlando visited its stores for those repairs more often than those in its other 34 metro regions.