In this file photo, drivers pour in and out of New York City, which Census data reveals is where commuters spend the most time traveling of any metro area.
(Viorel Florescu/NEWSDAY)Photos (1 of 1)
America’s worst commutes
From the legendary traffic snarls of New York City to the long routes taken by rural Pennsylvanians, here are America's worst commutes.
By David Grant | Contributor/ October 28, 2009 edition
America’s worst commute? Would you believe it belongs to the less than 10,000 residents of a small Pennsylvania “microregion”?
While New York City and northern New Jersey took home the worst commute title for a larger metro region, four microregions (a geographic division for a distinct community away from a metro area) had longer commutes than New Yorkers.
Virginians from Culpeper have a haul to both Richmond and Washington, D.C. averaging 36.6 minutes per commute, for example. But the worst of any region? The East Stroudsburg, Penn. (pop. 9888) area with an average commute of 39.2 minutes, according to data released Tuesday by the US Census Bureau.
For the Americans in larger, congested metroregions, here is the list of those who have it the worst.
Worst commutes (data)
10. Stockton, Calif. (Oakland and Sacramento): 29.7 minutes
9. Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. (San Francisco): 29.8 minutes
8. Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash. (Seattle): 30.1 minutes
7. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.: 30.4 minutes
6. Atlanta: 30.8 minutes
5. Chicago: 31.1 minutes.
4. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY (New York City): 31.2 minutes
3. San Juan, Puerto Rico: 31.8 minutes
2. Washington, D.C.: 33.2 minutes
1. New York City: 34.5 minutes
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Comments
2. Bob | 10.29.09
No Pittsburgh?!?! How this could’ve been the 10th largest city in America at one time - with absolutely NO INFRASTRUCTURE - boggles the mind!
Then again, maybe THAT’S why there are more Pittsburghers in Charlotte and Phoenix, than there are in Allegheny County…
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1. Sam | 10.28.09
Culpeper is about equidistance from DC and Richmond at approximately 70 miles; so the trip is much longer than 36 minutes