Seventy-one million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from their home over Fourth of July week, according to estimates from AAA.
The projected number of travelers for the period, which includes the entire July 4th week, plus the Saturday before and the Sunday after the holiday, is a 5% increase compared to 2023 and an 8% increase over 2019, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
“With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “We anticipate this July 4th week will be the busiest ever with an additional 5.7 million people traveling compared to 2019.”
Road trips will play the biggest role in travel plans, with 60.6 million people planning to travel by car. AAA car rental partner Hertz said Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are the cities displaying the highest rental demand during the holiday week. The busiest pick-up days are projected to be Friday, June 28, Saturday, June 29, and Wednesday, July 3.
For road trip insights to get ready for a high traffic weekend, check out Road Trip Revelations in the April Issue of NACS Magazine, and insights from the latest NACS Consumer Fuels Survey.