Bronx Residents Have the Country's Second Longest Commute

ALBANY – Bronx residents now have the country’s second-longest average commute to work, with its fellow outer boroughs close behind.

According to a POLITICO New York analysis of data released by the United States Census Bureau this week, the average Bronx worker needed an estimated 43.1 minutes to get to their jobs. This was quicker than only Charles County, Maryland, where the daily trek many residents make to Washington brings the total up 44.2 minutes each way.

“The good news is that at least Bronx residents are back in the labor force,” said former Bronx Assemblymember Michael Benjamin.

The third through fifth slots in the country were occupied by Queens (42.8 minutes), Staten Island (42.7 minutes), and Brooklyn (42.2 minutes). However, the margin of error in the census numbers is large enough that it’s feasible that any one of these counties occupies the country’s top spot in reality. For example, including the Bronx’s margin of error indicates the average travel time was between 42 and 44.1 minutes; in Brooklyn, it was between 41.7 and 42.7 minutes.

In previous years, Staten Islanders have had to endure the country's longest average commute.

When the travel time of all New York City denizens is added together, workers spend a total of over 573 years commuting to and from their jobs each day.

“The solution to these long and growing commutes is not magic,” said John Raskin of the Riders Alliance. “It’s investing in more frequent bus service, investing in bus rapid transit, upgrading the subway system. We know what the answer is, it’s just a matter of forming the political will to do it.”

Residents of the city’s suburbs have similarly arduous trips to their offices. Putnam County (38.5 minutes) has the country’s 12th-longest commute time, and Nassau, Westchester, Orange, Suffolk, Dutchess and Rockland all finished in the top 80 with times of between 30 and 36 minutes.

The Census Bureau data include numbers for 817 counties, including 39 of the 62 in New York. It only includes travel times for employed individuals who don’t work from home.

Chemung County residents have the state’s fastest commute, spending 18.3 minutes in transit. Tompkins, Jefferson, Chautauqua, Monroe, and Albany residents also spend less than 20 minutes traveling each way.

Throughout the state, however, the travel time for workers is increasing. In 2010, the typical one-way trip took 31.7 minutes; in 2014, it was 34 minutes. Residents of Broome (+2.9 minutes) and Staten Island (+2.2) had the biggest increases in their commutes. Commuters in Madison, Tompkins, Chemung, and Oswego each cut more than a minute off their trips.

Men typically have a longer journey to work (34 minutes on average) throughout the state then women (31.9 minutes). This difference was widest in Putnam County, where males spend an average of nine additional minutes commuting each way.