Traffic Alert! NJ Faces Record Thanksgiving Travel with 1.8 Million Drivers—See the Absolute Worst Time to Leave Town
file photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The holiday travel season is officially kicking off, and it’s projected to be the busiest Thanksgiving on record! According to new data from AAA, over 2 million New Jersey residents are planning to travel 50 miles or more from home, marking a 1.6% increase over last year.
This surge is part of a national trend, with AAA forecasting a record 81.8 million people traveling across the country between Tuesday, November 25, and Monday, December 1.
The Road is the Busiest Route (By Far)
The overwhelming majority of New Jersey travelers—a staggering 1.8 million people—will be driving. Nationally, nearly 90% of all Thanksgiving travelers (73 million people) will journey by car. This number could climb even higher if concerns over flight cancellations push more people onto the roads.
Key Travel Stats for NJ & the Nation:
| Metric | Projection | Comparison to Last Year |
| NJ Travelers | Over 2 Million | $\uparrow 1.6\%$ |
| NJ Road Travelers | 1.8 Million | Majority of all travelers |
| National Total | 81.8 Million | Record High |
| National Car Travelers | 73 Million | $\uparrow 1.3$ Million |
Worst Traffic Times: Brace for Double the Travel Time
More cars mean major delays. Drivers should prepare for travel times to double in some cases, particularly in major metro areas.
The absolute worst time to travel out of the region will be:
-
When: Tuesday, November 25, around 4:30 p.m.
-
Where: Drivers leaving the Philadelphia area for the Poconos can expect peak congestion, with traffic times increasing by 58%, resulting in a trip stretching over four hours.
AAA urges drivers to consult INRIX data and plan travel outside of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday peak times.
Flying, Renting, and Cruising: The Other Travel Trends
While driving dominates, other modes of travel are seeing their own shifts:
-
Air Travel: About 6 million U.S. travelers are expected to fly, a 2% increase over last year. The average roundtrip domestic flight is around $700, similar to last year, with tickets cheapest on Thanksgiving Day itself.
-
Car Rentals: Wednesday, November 26, is projected to be the busiest car rental pick-up day nationwide. Good news for renters: domestic car rental prices are down 15% compared to last Thanksgiving. Newark is one of the top five markets for rental demand.
-
Gas Prices: Drivers are paying slightly more than last year in New Jersey, with the state average hovering around $3.03 per gallon of regular gasoline (up from $2.89 in 2024).
-
Other Modes: Travel by bus, train, and cruise is expected to increase by 8.5% to nearly 2.5 million people, with cruising seeing strong post-pandemic growth.
As AAA Vice President of Travel Stacey Barber notes, “People are willing to brave the crowds and make last-minute adjustments to their plans to make lifelong memories,” confirming Thanksgiving’s status as the single busiest travel holiday.
