Yes, Your Commute Is Worse Than Everyone Else’s

34.2 minutes — according to the Census Bureau, that is the average commute of the average New Yorker. This staggering statistic places us as the second worst commute in the nation (Vineland, New Jersey is a bit longer) and well above the national average. New data released by the Census Bureau last week found that the average commuting time to work across the country has dropped from 25.5 minutes in 2000 to 25.1 minutes last year. Everyone’s commute is indeed getting better, except in New York Other areas with bad commutes include Washington DC, Atlanta, and Baltimore – all high-traffic metropolitan cities. The Census Bureau’s study also discovered that carpooling has decreased by two percent since last year while mass-transit use has stayed the same, which may also be contributing to overall commuting time. Census officials warn against too strongly comparing the 2005 data with that from the year before, because of changes in how the surveys were conducted. Last year's questionnaire reached a larger segment of the population, thus reaching the less-populated, more suburban areas. —Aly Walansky