With an average commute of 39 minutes, New Yorkers spend almost four more days traveling each year than workers in Chicago, which has the second-longest commute at 33 minutes.
The latest Census data released today shows commute times increased during the 1990s while carpooling declined from 13% of car traffic to 11%, according to estimates from U.S. cities with more than 250,000 residents.
Congestion in New York City, which has the nation's most extensive transit system, continues to grow. In 1990, Big Apple commuters needed an average of 36.5 minutes to get to work. Now it's 39 minutes.
One in eight workers in Boston walks to the office--the highest rate in the nation. By contrast, people in Raleigh, N.C., are the least likely to pound the pavement--only 1 in 100.
Of the 10 cities with the longest commutes in 1990, six remained on top a decade later: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. Newcomers included Miami; Newark, N.J.; Riverside, Calif.; and Oakland, Calif.
Anaheim, Calif., topped the carpooling list--1 in 4 motorists. Three major freeway systems border the city, all with car pool lanes, and several of Anaheim's largest employers offer car pool incentives.
Despite the ride sharing, seven California cities averaged commutes over 25 minutes each way, including Los Angeles at 28.1 minutes.
