A record number of Americans are expected to jam the nation's highways to observe the upcoming Fourth of July holiday.
AAA projects a record 60.6 million people will travel by car over Independence Day week – that’s an additional 2.8 million travelers compared to last year. This year’s number also surpasses 2019 when 55.3 million people traveled by car over July 4th week, according to AAA.
For the first time, AAA looked at the entire July 4th week, plus the Saturday before and the Sunday after the holiday.
Overall, AAA projects 70.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Independence Day holiday travel period. This year’s projected number of travelers for that time period is a 5% increase compared to 2023 and an 8% increase over 2019.
“With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “We anticipate this July 4th week will be the busiest ever with an additional 5.7 million people traveling compared to 2019.”
Gas prices are lower than last year when the national average was $3.53, according to AAA. Pump prices will likely continue going down leading up to Independence Day. At that point, they will likely level off and remain relatively stable until after Labor Day, similar to last year, said AAA in a statement.
“Drivers in large metro areas can expect the worst traffic delays on Wednesday, July 3rd, as they leave town, and Sunday, July 7th, as they return,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, a provider of transportation data. “Road trips over the holiday week could take up to 67% longer than normal. Travelers should monitor 511 services, local news stations, and traffic apps for up-to-the-minute road conditions.”
For this forecast, the Independence Day holiday travel period is defined as the nine-day period from Saturday, June 29 to Sunday, July 7, according to AAA. Historically, the Independence Day holiday period included only one weekend. This is the first year the Independence Day holiday travel period is a longer timeframe with two weekends included.
