Skip to main content

StreetLight Data reveals longest commutes to work across US

Commuters in the US state of Maine travel 9.8 miles to work on a daily basis, a 72% longer journey than the 5.7-mile median commute in Wyoming, according to the latest report by StreetLight Data. The transportation analytics company conducted its study on nearly 30,000 ZIP codes in areas with over 1,000 residents as part of a strategy to help encourage businesses and governments to start fixing the accessibility gap. The inquiry also highlighted the longest and shortest commutes in each state by ZIP cod
March 12, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Commuters in the US state of Maine travel 9.8 miles to work on a daily basis, a 72% longer journey than the 5.7-mile median commute in Wyoming, according to the latest report by StreetLight Data. The transportation analytics company conducted its study on nearly 30,000 ZIP codes in areas with over 1,000 residents as part of a strategy to help encourage businesses and governments to start fixing the accessibility gap.


The inquiry also highlighted the longest and shortest commutes in each state by ZIP code. California's ZIP 92309 showed the worst median commute of 115.4 miles while North Carolina’s ZIP 28575 had the shortest commute of 0.2 miles.

City by City results revealed that Bishop, California, is the Metropolitan area with the longest one-way commute of 70.2 miles. However, the 4,787-low population core-based statistical area (CBSA) may be over-influenced by a few extreme commuters. Ocean Pines, Maryland-Delaware’s population of 50,375 came second with a median commute distance of 29.2 miles.

Laramie, Wyoming, is the CBSA with the shortest commute of 1.7 miles with a population of 35,221. It is followed by Kansas’ population of 25,292 who travel 2.1 miles to work. The report noted that some of the rural CBSA's may be influenced by people who work on farms located close to their homes.

Additionally, cities such as Oxford, Mississippi, has students that attend Universities as their place of work and who often live nearby. It has a population of 43,250 and a median commute distance of 3.2 miles.

A full copy of the report is available %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external here false https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/519045/Commutes%20Across%20America_180201_LR.pdf false false%>.

Related Content

  • Vietnam strengthens pledge to sustainable transport
    November 8, 2019
    Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has announced plans to bolster its activities to improve sustainable transport. The news came at the Intergovernmental Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum, an annual event which aims to boost Asian countries’ awareness of environmental protection in the transport sector as well as building more sustainable urban areas and communities. Deputy minister of transport Lê Anh Tuấn told Vietnamnews: “The ministry will be proactive in working with other countries i
  • Canada invests in Vancouver’s EV charging infrastructure
    February 15, 2019
    The government of Canada is investing CAN$300,000 in the construction of six electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers in Vancouver. This funding is part of the government’s CAN$182.5m investment to develop a fast-charging network for EVs and establish natural gas stations along roads and hydrogen stations in metropolitan areas. The chargers are partially funded through the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative, a programme which falls under Canada’s $180 billion Inves
  • AVs could have ‘huge value’ in inner cities
    June 13, 2019
    Autonomous vehicles (AVs) could have value as the mainstay of inner city transport networks in future. “It’s pure speculation, but we are likely to see more segregated road networks,” said Chris Hayhurst, European consulting manager at MathWorks. For example, level 5 (completely driverless) AVs could simply be used to pick up and drop off people in the centre of a town. “In an inner city where there are no conventional cars at all it could have huge value,” he added. Hayhurst spoke to ITS Internat
  • SWRI to supply regional ATMS across three states
    September 7, 2014
    Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), arrives at the ITS World Congress in celebratory mood after securing a five-year, $4.1 million contract. The deal will see SWRI develop a regional advanced transportation management system (ATMS), data hub and traveller information system (TIS) for the state transportation authorities in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. When implemented the system will upgrade the highway information infrastructure in northern New England and provide coordinated real-time traffic, safet