According to a WalletHub study, Lubbock, Texas, is best place to be a driver in the United States.

With gas prices suddenly surging, at some pumps, to more than $5 a gallon, it’s no surprise that a new study calls Los Angeles one of the worst cities in the country to be a driver. On the other hand, Lubbock, down in the heart of the Texas oil patch, was rated the best city to be a driver, followed by another Lone Star community, Corpus Christi.

Fuel costs are clearly a major headache for American motorists, but they’re not the only factor that was considered by finance website WalletHub when it pulled together its 2015 Best & Worst Cities to Be a Driver study.

The study compared 100 of the nation’s most populous metros using 21 key metrics, including such things as gas prices, traffic delays and car thefts – as well as the availability of car club and repair shops and even the price of parking.

“Some cities are more haven-like for drivers, especially those who find pleasure behind the wheel,” noted the WalletHub study’s summary. But in other cities, it added, motorists may be jarred by bad roads, locked in endless traffic jams and hammered by the high cost of everything from fuel to parking to repairs.

Driving a Smart might be the only way to offset the traffic congestion and parking issues that have New York City ranked as the worst city for drivers.

With its endless traffic and highest-in-the-nation fuel costs, it’s probably no surprise that Los Angeles is among the 10 worst cities, but at 91^st on the list of 100, it actually fares pretty well compared to some other major metropolises. The absolute worst is New York, followed by Washington, DC and Philadelphia. In fact, big East Coast cities account for six of the bottom 10, with the Midwest’s Chicago and Detroit added in. From a West Coast perspective, San Francisco scores even worse than LA, at 97^th.

Smaller cities in the South and Southwest, on the other hand, are much more driver friendly, according to WalletHub. Along with Lubbock and Corpus Christi, that includes four cities in North Carolina, fourth-ranked Greensboro, as well as Durham, Winston-Salem and Raleigh, in seventh, ninth and 10^th.

Not surprisingly, the study puts heavy weight on fuel costs, and that puts Tucson, Lubbock and Houston in the top three spots, while Long Beach and Los Angeles are tied at the bottom.

But traffic is another serious consideration for drivers, according to the study. On the whole, it notes, the average American will spend 400 hours each year on the road, including “more than 40 hours stuck in traffic,” explains the overview. “In working-class terms, a total of 240 hours is the equivalent of a six-week vacation.”

Surprisingly, while four California cities have some of the country’s worst traffic problems – LA, San Francisco, Long Beach and Oakland tied for 87^th place – three other California locales have some of the least serious commuting issues. With Fresno in fourth.

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The bill for wasted time and fuel due to traffic, incidentally, comes to about $124 billion, according to researchers, or $1,700 a person. And, adds the study overview, “that figure doesn’t include the extra $515 tab for maintenance and repairs, costs induced by the poor quality of America’s roads, which currently rank at No. 16 in the world and receive a grade of ‘D’ from the American Society of Civil Engineers.”

In terms of the likelihood of having a crash, WalletHub’s study pointed to Boston as the worst city in the U.S., with Irvine, California the best city for a driver. Surprisingly, Boston also has the fewest repair shops per capita, while Orlando has the most. Meanwhile, Birmingham, Alabama has the lowest annual auto maintenance costs, while New York City and Jersey City are tied at the bottom.

Not surprisingly, New York drivers also face the highest parking bills, and Greensboro, North Carolina the lowest.

(Click Here for details about a Dutch company turning plastic waste in to roads.)

When it comes to car thefts, the Motor City ranks dead last, while Irvine again comes out on top.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, the folks in Boston are least likely to wash their cars, according to the study, while those in Orlando apparently connect cleanliness with godliness and are scrubbing away more frequently than anywhere else in the country.

Here are the 10 Best and Worst Cities in the U.S. to Be a Driver:

Best Cities to Be a Driver                                                    Worst Cities to Be a Driver

1. Lubbock, Texas                                                                       91. Los Angeles

2. Corpus Christi, Texas                                                               92. Baltimore

3. Lincoln, Nebraska                                                                    93. Chicago

4. Greensboro, North Carolina                                                      94. Boston

5. Tucson, Arizona                                                                       95. Newark, New Jersey

6. Reno, Nevada                                                                          96. Detroit

7. Durham, North Carolina                                                            97. San Francisco

8. Colorado Springs, Colorado                                                       98. Philadelphia

9. Winston-Salem, North Carolina                                                  99. Washington D.C.

10. Raleigh, North Carolina                                                           100. New York City

(For the full WalletHub study, Click Here.)