Fast facts about the United States commuting situation

Ever since COVID-19 began, there have been more options for those who want to work digitally and those who want a hybrid work schedule. However, many companies have decided to encourage (or mandate) their employees to come back to the office.

With that in mind, it's vital to know what cities have the best commuting conditions. Thanks to research done by the United States Census Bureau, we have the information you need to know about what methods most people use to get to work, the prevalence of super commuters, and which cities have the longest (and shortest) average commutes.

What kind of transportation do most people use in their daily commute?

Unsurprising, most of the people who responded to the 2022 American Community Survey (77.3%) drive to work on a regular basis. This makes sense since half of Wallet Hub's top 10 cities for jobs have a public transit score of 60 or lower (per Metro Magazine).

Those who don't get to work by car primarily get around through knowledge of their city. 3.1% use public transportation, 2.4% walk, and 0.5% ride their bikes to work. A lucky 15.2% of respondents work from home.

How long is the average American commute?

According to the Census records, the average travel time is 26.4 minutes, resulting in approximately an hour of unpaid time spent getting to and from work. However, this varies depending on where you live and what kind of traffic you might face.

The majority of commuters actually have shorter trips than that. 55.7% of respondents who don't work from home can make it to their place of work in under 25 minutes. However, an unfortunate 37.3% of those who responded have to travel at least 30 minutes, with over 11.5 million Americans taking over an hour, just to go one way.

What is a super commuter?

A super commuter is somebody who doesn't work in the same area that they live in. This usually happens when a person has to work in a major city but cannot afford to live there. Market Watch defined super-commuting as the practice of traveling at least 90 minutes or 180 miles just for the ability to work. While some super commuters make the trip on a daily basis, many others live in different cities on weekdays and weekends!

The U.S. Census Bureau has previously defined this practice as "extreme commuting." While these terms began emerging in the early part of the 21st century, they have rarely seen as much attention as they have in recent years. With more than 15% of survey respondents working from home, it is increasingly unacceptable for others to have to travel so far, usually with no difference in pay.

Even so, the 2022 American Community Survey found that 21.5% of people work outside of their county of residence, and a shocking 3.1% of respondents actually work in completely different states than where they live.

What cities have the longest commutes?

Looking at the census data, it's possible to see how each city fares in travel time. The following are the ten cities with the longest commutes. Included in the list is what the average commute time is for the urban area, as well as what percentage of respondents drive more than an hour to get to work.

1. Antioch, CA (37.9 minute average commute)

• 26.1% of commutes are longer than an hour

2. Atlanta, GA (30.6 minute average commute)

• 11.2% of commutes are longer than an hour

3. Chicago, IL-IN (30.4 minute average commute)

• 11.8% of commutes are longer than an hour

4. Bel Air-Aberdeen, MD (30.4 minute average commute)

• 10.1% of commutes are longer than an hour

5. Boston, MA-NH (30.1 minute average commute)

• 12% of commutes are longer than an hour

6. Bridgeport-Stamford, CT-NY (29.6 minute average commute)

• 13.5% of commutes are longer than an hour

7. Cape Coral, FL (29.6 minute average commute)

• 10.9% of commutes are longer than an hour

8. Bremerton, WA (28.7 minute average commute)

• 13.4% of commutes are longer than an hour

9. Arecibo, PR (28.4 minute average commute)

• 12.4% of commutes are longer than an hour

10. Baltimore, MD (28.1 minute average commute)

• 9.1% of commutes are longer than an hour

What cities have the shortest commutes?

Here are the ten cities which have the shortest commutes. We have included information about both their average commute time and what percentage of respondents drives less than 15 minutes to get to work.

1. Champaign, IL (14.1 minute average commute)

• 56.4% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

2. Cheyenne, WY (14.6 minute average commute)

• 56.8% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

3. Ames, IA (14.9 minute average commute)

• 60.1% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

4. Bozeman, MT (14.9 minute average commute)

• 52.6% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

5. Abilene, TX (14.9 minute average commute)

• 49.7% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

6. Blacksburg-Christiansburg, VA (15 minute average commute)

• 51.3% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

7. Casper, WY (15.4 minute average commute)

• 55.2% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

8. Bismarck, ND (15.8 minute average commute)

• 48.4% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

9. Billings, MT (16.1 minute average commute)

• 45.9% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

10. Bend, OR (17.1 minute average commute)

• 43.8% of commutes are shorter than 15 minutes

Got questions about history, trivia, or anything else? Send an email to askeverest@fansided.comand we might answer here on the site!