Study Ranks This Utah Airport as America’s Least Stressful

Salt Lake City International Named America’s Least Stressful Major Airport

For Southern Utah travelers, flying usually comes with a familiar debate: Do you catch a flight out of St. George, head to Cedar City, drive to Las Vegas or make the long haul north to Salt Lake City?

Salt Lake City International: A Stress-Free Experience

A new national study may give Salt Lake City a little more leverage in that argument. Rightway Parking analyzed 55 of the busiest airports in the country using five factors, including flight delays, cancellations, how much delays have increased since 2021, and the distance and travel time between each airport and downtown.

Ranking Highlights: SLC Takes the Top Spot

When everything was combined, Salt Lake City International Airport ranked as the least stressful major airport in the United States. SLC finished ahead of San Jose International Airport and Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. All three had cancellation rates below 1%, relatively manageable trips from downtown and lower delay rates than many of the airports at the stressful end of the rankings.

That is not a bad selling point for Utah’s largest airport.

Of course, those of us in Southern Utah might respond: Great — but first we have to get there.

Exploring Nearby Alternatives: St. George, Cedar City, and Beyond

Whenever possible, many local travelers would probably rather fly directly out of St. George Regional Airport, and Cedar City can also be an attractive option depending on the destination and schedule. Las Vegas remains another popular choice because Harry Reid International offers a massive selection of nonstop flights and is considerably closer to St. George than Salt Lake City.

The Four-Hour Commitment: Is It Worth It?

But plenty of Southern Utah residents still make the roughly four-hour drive to SLC, particularly when airfare, schedules, or nonstop options make it worthwhile.

And now we can apparently add another reason. Maybe the four-hour drive up Interstate 15 is actually worth it if what waits at the other end is the least stressful big airport in America.

Source: Rightway Parking Study

That statement may deserve an asterisk for anyone who has sprinted through SLC’s terminal trying to reach a distant gate, but the numbers are impressive. At the opposite end of the study, Dallas/Fort Worth International ranked as the nation’s most stressful airport, followed by Chicago O’Hare and Reagan National near Washington, D.C.

The study used 2025 flight data from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics along with driving-distance and travel-time information. Each factor was weighted equally to create an overall stress score.

Final Thoughts: Weighing Your Travel Decisions

So next time someone in St. George asks whether they should drive north or south to catch a flight, SLC has a new argument in its favor:

Sure, it’s four hours away — but apparently once you get there, you can finally relax.