New England Far From The Top On 'Best States To Drive In' List

BOSTON (CBS) -- There's a new ranking out of the best states to drive in, and you'll have to look pretty far down before spotting any New England states.

Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas top WalletHub's list of the best states to drive in. It considers factors like the cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic, infrastructure and safety.

The top-performing state in New England is Maine at No. 20, followed by Vermont at 27th and New Hampshire at 34. Massachusetts - with its reputation for unfriendly drivers - is ranked 37th, and Connecticut is close behind at No. 39.

At the very bottom, beating out only Hawaii, is Rhode Island at No. 49.

Maine at least got credit for having the third-lowest percentage of rush hour congestion in the country. New England also did well in the area of car thefts, reporting low numbers compared to the rest of the U.S. But Massachusetts and Rhode Island were in the bottom 10 for both cost of ownership/maintenance and traffic.

Click here to see the full report.