The Worst Cities and Metro Areas for Commuters
Though more companies are allowing employees to work from home, the average daily commute keeps getting worse.
If you’re like me, you avoid traffic like it’s a 4-year-old with a runny nose, so knowing where commutes are miserable is vital when job hunting or considering a move. Below are the 19 worst cities and metro areas for commuters.
Many on this list are the typical big cities you’d expect, but others are tiny towns you might not expect to have such massive commute times.
To find the cities and metro areas with the worst commutes, we looked to the five-year estimated one-way commuting times in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. We filtered out any areas with significant overlaps and sorted them from lowest to highest times.
To break the few ties we had, we estimated how many hours per year the average commuter spent on the road by multiplying their average round-trip commute by 52 (the weeks in a year). We then took the number of hours per year and multiplied it by the mean hourly wage in the area, which we obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to determine how much potential yearly income they lost on the road.
The more income the commuters lost on the road, the worse the city or metro area ranked.
19. Vallejo-Fairfield, California Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 31.8 minutes
Potential Lost Wage Commuting: $7,273.08
The Vallejo-Fairfield, California metro area kicks off our list of cities with bad commutes with an average one-way commute time of 31.8 minutes. This gives the average worker in this San Francisco Bay metro area just over an hour on the road before they even start their day at work.
The mean Vallejo-Fairfield, California worker earns $26.39 per hour, making the potential lost income per year at $7,273.08.
18. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Average One-Way Commute Time: 31.8 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $7,443.95
The city of brotherly love is also a city that apparently loves commuting, too. Philadelphia ties the Vallejo-Fairfield, California metro area, with the average one-way trip to work taking 31.8 minutes. This means the average worker spends over an hour per day driving to and from work.
With a mean hourly wage of $27.01, the average Philadelphian commuter with a full-time job could earn an extra $7,443.95 per year if they worked those hours instead of battling traffic.
17. Stockton-Lodi, California Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 32 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $6,551.61
In 2017, the Stockton-Lodi, California metro area was ranked the worst area to drive in California based on many factors, including traffic fatalities, percentage of commuters driving to work, car thefts per year, and, of course, average commute time. The latter rings in at an even 32 minutes one-way, making the average round trip 1 hour, four minutes.
With the mean hourly wage in this area checking in at $23.55, the average worker in this region potentially misses out on up to $6,551.61 in pay per year.
16. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 32.1 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $6,331.83
Known as the Inland Empire, the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California metro area sits next to Los Angeles. That L.A. commute bleeds into the area, pushing its average commute time to 32.1 minutes, which brings the total round-trip commute to beyond 1 hour, four minutes per day.
With the mean hourly wage of $22.76, the average commuter loses up to $6,331.83 in potential yearly pay while on the road.
15. Shelton, Washington
Average One-Way Commute Time: 32.1 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $7,230.41
When people outside Washington think about the northwestern state and commute times, most will assume Seattle has the worst commuting times. Nope, that honor belongs to the small city of Shelton, Washington. This city of just over 10,000 people deals with an eye-popping 32.1-minute average one-way commute, putting their round trip around 1 hour, four minutes per day.
Why do so many people in this small town deal with super-long commute times? Curbed Seattle blames it on many residents commuting either 90 minutes to work in Seattle or 30 minutes to Olympia.
With the mean wage in the area landing at $25.99, the average Shelton resident potentially loses up to $7,230.42 per year beating the pavement.
14. Chicago, Illinois Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 32.4 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $7,460.86
The Chicago metro area, which also includes Naperville and Arlington, puts commuters through 32.4 minutes of tight traffic on their way to work, leading to over an hour round-trip journey.
Workers in this large metro area earn a mean hourly wage of $26.57, meaning they potentially lose out on $7,460.86 in pay just driving to work.
13. Boston, Massachusetts
Average One-Way Commute Time: 32.4 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $9,095.11
No matter if it’s via public transit or in the thick of things on the road, commuting in Beantown is terrible, according to Curbed Boston. We are only concerned about those four-wheeled warriors on the road driving themselves an average of 32.4 minutes to work. This brings their per-day round-trip commute to almost 1 hour, five minutes of grueling gridlock.
With a mean hourly wage of $32.39, full-time Bostonites miss out on a pile of potential pay while on the road: $9,095.11 per year, to be precise.
12. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 32.8 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $9,865.15
Everyone is well aware of the cost of living in the San Francisco Bay area. There have even been stories of super-commuters who earn a high wage in the area but live up to four hours away.
Of course, this isn’t the norm. In fact, the average worker in the San Francisco metro area, which includes Oakland and Hayward, travels 32.8 one-way to work. This would give them a more than 1-hour, 5-minute round-trip commute.
With the mean hourly wage in the San Francisco metro area ringing in at a whopping $34.81 per hour, a full-time employee misses up to $ 9,865.15 in potential yearly earnings on the road.
11. Bogalusa, Louisiana
Average One-Way Commute Time: 33 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $5,865.86
Bogalusa, Louisiana, a small town of just over 12,000 people, is a surprising entry on our list with a 33-minute average one-way commute. Why does this tiny city put its citizens through such grueling commutes that average over an hour per day? It’s mostly its proximity to good-paying jobs.
This small town is over an hour from New Orleans (pictured) and 1.5 hours from Baton Rouge, and those folks making these super commutes for higher pay and more opportunities drive up that average.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t list an average hourly wage for this small town, but the mean wage in Louisiana is $20 per hour. This means these commuters are missing out on up to $5,865.86 in potential yearly income on the road.
10. Newark, New Jersey
Average One-Way Commute Time: 33 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $8,233.94
Folks can make insane wages in New York City, but living there will drain all that extra cash in their paycheck in a hurry. This is why so many people who work in New York City live in places like Newark, New Jersey, and make the haul into the city every morning.
With all the traffic heading into The Big Apple, the average Newark commuter spends 33 minutes one-way heading to work. This puts the average round-trip commute at 1 hour, 6 minutes per day.
Considering the mean hourly wage in Newark, New Jersey checks in at $28.79 per hour, these commuters lose out on $8,233.94 in potential yearly income.
9. Nassau County-Suffolk County, New York City Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 33.8 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $8,170.58
The Nassau and Suffolk County metro area on Long Island in New York is just far enough from New York City to save on living costs but close enough to make the daily commute. Those who forgo public transit and hit the pavement have an average one-way daily commute of 33.8 minutes, which comes out to a 1-hour, 7-minute round-trip per day.
This exhausting trip becomes even worse when you consider the mean hourly wage in the area is $27.81, so commuters lose out on potential yearly earnings of $8,170.58 just driving to work.
8. Dutchess County-Putnam County, New York City Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 34 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $7,415.51
New York City workers are willing to go to great lengths to get the housing they need for their family and still work in the high-paying city. According to The New York Times, some will even tackle the 2-plus-hour commute from the Dutchess County and Putnam County areas.
These super-commuters play a considerable role in this metro area’s 34-minute average one-way commute. With the average round-trip commute to and from work checking in at 1 hour, 8 minutes, and the mean hourly wage sitting at $25.24, commuters in this area lose out on $7,415.51 in potential yearly income driving to work.
7. Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, California Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 34.3 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $8,951.28
Earlier, we spoke of the 32.8-minute one-way commute in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California Metro Area. If you eliminate San Francisco and replace it with Berkeley, which is just across the bay, the average one-way commute time jumps to 34.3 minutes. This is likely due to some folks in Berkeley making the 14-mile drive across the San Francisco Bay for work.
With the average round-trip commute sucking up more than 1 hour and 8 minutes, and the mean wage in the area checking in at $30.20 per hour, these commuters miss out on $8,951.28 in potential yearly income fighting traffic five days a week.
6. Picayune, Mississippi
Average One-Way Commute Time: 34.5 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $5,666.05
Small towns have a knack for cropping up on our list of the worst cities for commuters. This time it is the tiny town of Picayune in the southwestern corner of Mississippi.
The 34.5-minute average one-way commute for Picayune, Mississippi residents isn’t due to heavy traffic in the area. Instead, it is because it’s so remote, forcing many residents to make the long trip into one of the larger regional cities, like New Orleans (pictured), for work.
These road warriors spend an average of 1 hour and 9 minutes per day making their round-trip commute. With the mean hourly wage checking in at $18.95 in Mississippi, these workers lose out on $5,666.05 per year in potential income driving to work.
5. Washington, D.C. Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 34.6 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $10,241.45
The Washington, D.C. metro area, which encompasses Arlinton, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia, is known for a few things: politicians, high-paying jobs and traffic. The latter two play pivotal roles in this metro area’s 34.6-minute average one-way commute, as folks try to rake in the dough in D.C. while relaxing in the suburbs of Arlington or Alexandria.
With the mean hourly wage in the area running $34.12, these commuters lose out on $10,241.45 in potential yearly income driving to work.
4. Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, Maryland Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 34.8 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $9,434.05
Another set of D.C. suburbs and towns is the Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, Maryland metro area, which falls just north of the capitol. Folks living in this area tackle up to 34.8 minutes of traffic on their way to work, leaving them on the road for more than 1 hour and 9 minutes per day.
Workers in this metro area have a mean hourly wage of $31.28, so they lose out on $9,434.05 in potential yearly income on the road.
3. New York-Newark-Jersey City Metro Area
Average One-Way Commute Time: 36.3 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $9,765.18
In the easternmost piece of the massive New York metro area is the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area. While some folks in this area work close to home, many make the traffic-filled commute into New York City every day, driving the average one-way commute time in the area up to 36.3 minutes.
With these workers spending more than 1 hour and 12 minutes per day on their one-way commute and earning a mean hourly wage of $31.04, they lose out on $9,765.18 in potential yearly income driving to the office.
2. New York-Jersey City-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J. Metro Division
Average One-Way Commute Time: 37.5 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $10,062
Making up the remainder of the New York metro area is the New York-Jersey City-White Plains metro division, which flows north of The Big Apple. Commuters in this area spend a whopping 37.5 minutes on their one-way commute to work, making their round trip about 1 hour, 15 minutes long.
With full-time workers spending 325 hours per year commuting to work and earning a mean hourly wage of $30.96, they lose out on an average of $10,062 in potential yearly earnings behind the wheel.
1. East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Average One-Way Commute Time: 38.6 minutes
Potential Lost Wages Commuting: $6,694.01
So, what city has the worst commute in the country? Is it Los Angeles? Maybe Atlanta? Or how about Pittsburgh? Nope, it is a tiny town in the Poconos known as East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
So, what makes this town of just over 10,000 people have an average one-way commute of 38.6 minutes? According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, it’s that so many residents make the 75-mile trek to New York City every day for work.
With the mean hourly wage for Stroudsburg workers coming in at $20.01, these commuters lose out on $6,694.01 in potential yearly income driving to work. And those who make the long trip to New York City for big money lose even more in the process.