Home
slideshows
miscellaneous
The 5 best US cities to commute from - and the 5 worst

The 5 best US cities to commute from - and the 5 worst

The five US cities with the shortest commutes

5. Eugene, Oregon

Average round trip: 36.4 minutes (or 18.2 minutes each way)

One in seven workers in Eugene walk or bike to work, according to the US Census Bureau.

4. Amarillo, Texas

Average round trip: 35.4 minutes (or 17.7 minutes each way)

Amarillo has the highest percentage of automobile commuters in the nation at 94.9% car commuting, according to the US Census Bureau's survey. Those drivers are just lucky to have relatively painless drives.

3. Springfield, Missouri

Average round trip: 35.4 minutes (or 17.7 minutes each way)

Springfield's commute ties Amarillo, but in the warmer months, more people walk or bike to work here. In the winter, the car is king.

2. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Average round trip: 33.8 minutes (or 16.9 minutes each way)

The low population density of Sioux Falls helps ameliorate the traffic issues that would otherwise be caused by its 92.7% car commuter statistic, according to the US Census Bureau's survey.

1. Lubbock, Texas

Average round trip: 32.8 minutes (or 16.4 minutes each way)

The birthplace of rock n' roll star Buddy Holly has another feather in its cap: the shortest averaged commute time in America.

The five US cities with the longest commutes

5. Newark, New Jersey

Average round trip: 71 minutes (or 35.5 minutes each way)

Newark sees people commuting for longer in each direction than many workers elsewhere spend on their entire round trip commute, and it's only the fifth worst.

4. Corona, California

Average round trip: 73.4 minutes (or 36.7 minutes each way)

About a quarter of the residents of Corona spend more than an hour driving to work each day, and then more than an hour getting home, according to the US Census Bureau.

3. Jersey City, New Jersey

Average round trip: 73.6 minutes (or 36.8 minutes each way)

While right next to Newark, the much greater use of public transit by Jersey City residents (26.3% to 48.5%) means a slightly longer trip for folks from the latter.

2. New York, New York

Average round trip: 81.6 minutes (or 40.8 minutes each way)

According to the US Census Bureau's survey, 10% of New Yorkers walk to work, 56.5% take public transit, and 26.6% drive. And all of it takes forever.

1. Palmdale, California

Average round trip: 85.4 minutes (or 42.7 minutes each way)

Palmdale residents have the dubious distinction of the worst commute in America thanks to the long drive toward Los Angeles that, of course, ends with them snarled in LA's notoriously difficult traffic.