Time to work (minutes): 28
Percent of income spent on commute: 20%
Annual cost of commute: $8,362
Change in total cost from 2019: no change
(Credit: kan_khampanya/Shutterstock.com)
Time to work (minutes): 35
Percent of income spent on commute: 19%
Annual cost of commute: $11,556
Change in total cost from 2019: -4%
(Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
Time to work (minutes): 30
Percent of income spent on commute: 20%
Annual cost of commute: $8,585
Change in total cost from 2019: no change
(Credit: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock.com)
Time to work (minutes): 32
Percent of income spent on commute: 20%
Annual cost of commute: $9,256
Change in total cost from 2019: 14%
(Credit: f11photo/Adobe Stock)
Time to work (minutes): 34
Percent of income spent on commute: 20%
Annual cost of commute: $12,358
Change in total cost from 2019: 9%
(Credit: Stefano Termanini/Shutterstock.com)
Time to work (minutes): 31
Percent of income spent on commute: 22%
Annual cost of commute: $10,101
Change in total cost from 2019: 17%
(Credit: Newport Coast Media/Adobe Stock)
Time to work (minutes): 33
Percent of income spent on commute: 23%
Annual cost of commute: $9,078
Change in total cost from 2019: 5%
(Credit: Matt Gush/Adobe Stock)
Time to work (minutes): 37
Percent of income spent on commute: 23%
Annual cost of commute: $12,148
Change in total cost from 2019: 15%
(Credit: Songquan Deng/Shutterstock.com)
Time to work (minutes): 32
Percent of income spent on commute: 22%
Annual cost of commute: $9,360
Change in total cost from 2019: 9%
(Credit: Anthony/stock.adobe.com)
Time to work (minutes): 27
Percent of income spent on commute: 29%
Annual cost of commute: $12,801
Change in total cost from 2019: 59%
Clever Real Estate noted high average car insurance costs drove Detroit to the top of this ranking.
(Credit: harry/Adobe Stock)
American commuters are spending 20% more time and 31% more money getting to work now than they were before the pandemic, according to Clever Real Estate, which included auto insurance when considering the costs associated with commuting.
The average driver loses around 32 hours in traffic annually and spends more than $8,400, according to the report.
Buffalo, N.Y. was ranked the best city for commuters by Clever Real Estate, which ranked the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas for the study. Drivers in Buffalo have commutes that are 22% shorter than the national average. They also spend the least amount of their annual income getting to and from work.
Other cities that ranked well include Salt Lake City, Utah; Milwaukee; and Virginia Beach, Va. Drivers in cities that ranked in the top 15 of the list spend $6,993 commuting every year, 17% cheaper than the national average, Clever Real Estate reported. For commuters in cities that ranked the worst, the average annual spend is $10,360.
The study found that commuters fare better in the Eastern U.S. and some parts of the Midwest due to lower cost, less-time consuming drives as well as lower insurance costs and less congested roads.
The above slideshow ranks the 10 worst cities for commuters based on time spent traveling to work, average annual costs and the percent of income spent commuting, according to Clever Real Estate.
