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March 31, 2005

Extreme Commutes

Chuck's entry yesterday brings up an interesting point. The U.S. Census Bureau just released its most recent study of how long it takes people to get to work. The bad news? The average American spends more than 100 hours a year commuting to work. Here are the top five states -- with the longest commute times:

New York, 30.4 minutes
Maryland, 30.2 minutes
New Jersey, 28.5 minutes
Illinois, 27 minutes
California, 26.5 minutes

Posted by Heath Row at March 31, 2005 10:06 AM | Category: culture | 4 Comments

4 COMMENTS

Posted by: joann mackenzie at March 31, 2005 12:53 PM

Re> commuting time: 100 hrs a year is heaven by NY standards. Lots of ad people who've been forced out to the pharma agencies in NJ try to convince me (they've already managed to convince themselves) that 4hrs daily drive time is "do-able". --This, on NJ expressways, with 18 wheelers breathing down your back bumper, feeling the whole time like road-kill about to happen. Life's too short & this is excellent way to make it shorter. --Joann Mackenzie

Posted by: joann mackenzie at March 31, 2005 12:54 PM

Posted by: Frank at March 31, 2005 1:03 PM

I am very suspicious of these numbers. In my experience people (including myself) have the tendency to underreport these times. That might be partially due to a state of denial--it could be too scary to face the actual amount of time of my life which I am wasting in traffic. Maybe that has to do with the fear of mortality. . .

Also, sometimes it's embarrassing to admit to others the actual commuting time (including days with worse traffic). It's like saying: "Hey, look what a loser I am and what bad lifestyle decisions I have made!"

Posted by: lostyand at February 16, 2008 1:07 AM