If you drive in Adelaide and feel like traffic has become more painful, you’re not imagining it. 

According to the 2025 TomTom Traffic Index, Adelaide is now officially Australia’s most congested city, topping the national list ahead of Melbourne and Sydney. With a congestion level of 55.1%, journeys that would normally take 20 minutes can stretch to more than 30 minutes during peak hours, adding over 100 hours of travel time per year for the average driver.

Melbourne follows closely with a congestion level of 52.9%, while the Gold Coast records 48.6%, placing it third nationally. Congestion in these cities is most pronounced on major arterial routes and commuter corridors during morning and evening peaks, driven by growing populations and urban development. Sydney, long seen as Australia’s traffic benchmark, now ranks fourth, with a congestion level of 43.7%.

Adelaide’s congestion is moderate when compared with the global traffic leaders. The three most congested cities worldwide in 2025 were Mexico City (75.9%), Bengaluru (74.4%) and Dublin (72.9%). While Adelaide leads Australia, these international examples show that urban traffic congestion can be substantially higher in other parts of the world.

At the lower end of Australia’s spectrum, cities such as Darwin (27.5%), Wollongong (31.8%), and Canberra (33.6%) experience far lighter delays during peak periods. Smaller populations and less pressure on key road networks contribute to smoother traffic flow in these locations.

The TomTom Traffic Index calculates congestion by analysing anonymised GPS data from vehicles and devices. It compares actual travel times during peak periods with ideal “free-flow” conditions to produce a congestion percentage, allowing direct comparisons both nationally and globally. Aggregating data over a full calendar year ensures a consistent benchmark for evaluating traffic performance across cities.

Traffic congestion levels for Australian cities in 2025

  • Adelaide: 55.1%
  • Melbourne: 52.9%
  • Gold Coast: 48.6%
  • Sydney: 43.7%
  • Newcastle: 41.3%
  • Brisbane: 40.5%
  • Hobart: 38.2%
  • Perth: 35.9%
  • Canberra: 33.6%
  • Wollongong: 31.8%
  • Darwin: 27.5%
MORE All the data at TomTom