If time is money, then commutes cost the average U.S. worker thousands of dollars a year.
As the back-and-forth over a return to the office continues, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calculated the cities with the costliest commutes by comparing the average commute time in each city with the median income for full-time, year-round workers.
Nationwide, commuters experience an annual “wage loss,” or commute cost in time, of about $5,748.05 a year, or about $22.11 per day.
“As the debate over remote work versus return-to-office continues, it’s important for small-business owners to recognize that commuting goes beyond financial implications — it can also affect employee well-being and productivity,” the Chamber of Commerce said in its report on the survey. “Creating a work environment that prioritizes flexibility can have positive benefits for both your business as well as your employees.”
It’s not surprising the costliest cities are largely those with the most expensive housing as well as higher median salaries. The No. 1 city for commute cost is San Francisco, with an annual cost in time of $12,650.66, an average commute time of 58.4 minutes and a high median salary of about $103,978.
Rounding out the top five are Fremont, California; Washington, D.C.; Jersey City, New Jersey and New York City. All those cities — in addition to Seattle, which came in at No. 6 — have commute costs of more than $10,000 per year.
The Chamber of Commerce study mirrors an earlier study by financial advice company Clever, which found the cost for the average commuter was $8,466 per year — about 19% of their annual income. That includes both the cost in time, as well as about $867 on average for fuel and $410 on vehicle maintenance because of commuting.
How commuting has changed since the pandemic
Clever found the average American actually spends more time commuting now — about 239 hours — than before the pandemic in 2019, when it was about 200 hours.
Data from the Census Bureau also found average commute times increased by 10% from 2006 to 2019 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The worst cities for commuters in that study is largely the same, with cities in California and New York, as well as Detroit, Atlanta and Chicago, identified as having longer commute times. The best cities for commuters in that study tend to have less travel time and a lower cost of living, including Buffalo, New York; Salt Lake City; Milwaukee; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Cleveland, Ohio.
The Census Bureau has followed commute patterns and the impact of remote work based on what it calls the commuter-adjusted population, which is essentially the number of people in a particular area during business hours.
By adding the number of people living in a given area with the number of people who work there, then subtracting the amount of people who both live and work there, the Census Bureau can get a rough idea of how many people commute to a place for the day.
New York City saw a loss of 800,000 people in this metric from 2019 to 2021, while Los Angeles County in California saw a drop of 200,000 between 2019 and 2021. Chicago’s commuter-adjusted population fell by 60,000 people, despite a net gain of 23,000 residents during that time.
Other areas saw big gains as remote workers ditched the commute and stayed home. Kings County, New York, saw a commuter-adjusted gain of 300,000 people, alongside an increase in residents by about 81,000.
The cost of commuting to workers
Americans would do nearly anything to ditch the commute, according to a recent study by insurance website The Zebra.
About 35% of Americans would take a pay cut in exchange for a shorter commute. Of the 45% who said they would take a pay cut, 89% would trade up to 20% of their salary and about 5% would give up half of their salary. The Zebra report found the average annual commute costs about $4,829 for the average worker in wasted time.
“Our survey found that, if given a shorter commute, people would use the extra time to sleep rather than spend time with family or a partner. That isn’t the worst idea either, since more than one-third of the U.S. workforce is sleep-deprived,” according to the report.
The value of a short commute is real to workers. A May survey by the Federal Reserve found, among Americans working from home at least part time, having to return to the office in person amounts to a 2% to 3% pay cut. A recent survey by Newsweek found most workers agreed companies should cover commute costs, and a majority said companies should offer free meals to employees working in the office.
A separate analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research in early 2023 found the average American remote worker saved 55 minutes in daily commute times — and gave part of that time back to their employer with additional work. NBER’s analysis found remote workers are using about 40% of the time saved from not commuting to work for their employer, while about 34% goes to leisure activities and about 11% to caregiving activities, although workers with children report higher amounts of caregiving time.
A survey earlier this year by Clarify Capital found, when asked to identify their biggest annoyances with returning to the office, about 45% of workers identified the commute. About 25% of workers said they’d like their commuting time to be included in their working hours. That comes as many companies are seeking to ditch or dial back their hybrid policies.
In the past two years, job postings that cited commuter benefits rose 43%, according to an analysis by workforce and labor demographic firm Lightcast. However, that still represents just a small portion of job postings overall, at 1.1%.