(NEXSTAR) – If you’re stuck in traffic every morning and every evening, is it comforting to know you’re not alone? The average American adult spends 219 hours a year – or more than nine full days – commuting every year, a new analysis by MoneyGeek found.

The personal finance site used data from the Census, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, TomTom, plus gas prices to determine where residents have the best and worst commutes.

Six of the 10 worst places for commuters are in California, MoneyGeek found.

It’s not just that drivers in Vallejo, San Jose, Stockton, Modesto and other California cities have to sit in traffic for a long time – though they do – but they have to pay out the nose to do so. Gas prices are high all around California, and residents in further suburbs (like Vallejo and Fairfield) are often driving longer distances to get into the office. (MoneyGeek factored in the cost of gas, but not the cost of public transit, in its report.)

To make matters even worse, commuters who drive to work risk damage to their car – or their own safety – every time they get behind the wheel. Crash rates weren’t highest in California cities, however. Drivers in Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and San Antonio, Texas, were more likely to experience a crash during their commute, MoneyGeek found.

The study combined these factors – commute time, rush-hour speed, crash rates and gas costs – to give of the country’s 124 largest metro areas a score. The 20 worst communities for commuters are:

If you’re looking for someone to be jealous of, look no further than Madison, Wisconsin. Drivers there benefit from low gas prices, rare crashes and short commute times, earning it the No. 1 spot for best commutes in the ranking.

The shortest average commute time overall was found in Wichita, Kansas. Meanwhile, drivers in the McAllen, Texas, metro area pay the least for gas every year. The award for fewest crashes was a three-way tie between Boulder, Colorado; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Trenton, New Jersey.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) – Come Monday, changes will be coming to California as a variety of new laws are set to go into effect, including one aimed at banning hidden fees.

“We need to know. We need to know what we’re paying for,” said Kelley Day.

Thanks to Senate Bill 478, consumers will know the price of a product or service from the start — not when they get the bill.

“I feel like it makes it fair for consumers in general. You get what you get. You’re seeing the price and then it makes it so no one can complain,” said Zoe Miller.

Also known as the honest pricing law or hidden fees statute, the bill paves the way for transparency. It applies to the sale of most goods and services including restaurants, hotels, event tickets and food delivery service.

“If consumers see a low price at the beginning, then they are more likely to make a commitment there and then once they’ve made the commitment, they’ll have to put up then with the higher price at the end. It’s kind of a bait and switch,” said Alan Gin, an economics professor at University of San Diego.

Gin says restaurants may be among the most worried to bake the total cost of fees and surcharge into the price of what’s on your plate.

“It’s the restaurant industry particularly that’s complaining about this and they may carve out legislation that says their fees would be OK if they display them prominently on the menu,” Gin added.

Lawmakers are currently contemplating that exemption for restaurants. The law already has exemptions for taxes and things like shipping and delivery charges.

A community of nearly 30,000 residents is set to become California’s newest city. 

Mountain House in San Joaquin County will incorporate on July 1, several months after voters showed overwhelming support for cityhood. 
•Video Above: Coverage of Mountain House cityhood vote (from March 2024)

Mountain House is in the southwestern part of the county, about 30 miles southwest of Stockton and 50 miles east of Oakland.

To celebrate cityhood, Mountain House announced officials are holding a commemoration ceremony as part of a Fourth of July celebration. 

Mountain House is San Joaquin County’s eighth city and California’s 483rd city, as well as the state’s newest since 2011. 

It has about 10,000 registered voters and is a growing community with about 28,000 residents. 

On the same March ballot where voters opted for cityhood, they also decided on a proposed mayor and city council and determined how future elections would work. 

A majority of voters decided on an “at-large” process to determine how city council members will be elected.

An “at-large” election means anyone who lives in the city could run for a city council seat, instead of using a system of districts with one member from each. In Mountain House, the candidates with the most votes will become city council members. 

Prior to the cityhood vote, Mountain House was governed by an elected, five-member community services district board.