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The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a huge shift in people’s daily lives, including their commutes. Suddenly, millions of people who used to commute to an office were working from home. While many companies are now requiring that their employees return to the office, there has been a lasting impact on daily commutes. Overall, commute times are less than before the pandemic, but bad traffic in some cities can cause commuters to lose days’ worth of time annually.
The pandemic completely upended the employment landscape. Between 2010 and 2019, the percentage of workers who worked from home increased very gradually, from 4.3% to 5.7%. But by 2021, the share of workers who worked from home had surged to 17.9%, more than triple the pre-pandemic rate. A recent Gallup poll found that the shift towards more remote work is likely to persist—the majority of remote-capable workers (those who can do their jobs remotely from home) expect to work in a hybrid (in-person and remote) arrangement in the future.
Although a much larger percentage of workers now work from home than in the past, the vast majority of workers still commute to work by driving. Two in three workers drive alone to work and another 7.8% carpool. In total, 76% of workers commute by private transportation, while less than 3% take public transportation. Another 6.5% commute by other means, such as walking, biking, or taking a taxi.
As millions of workers transitioned to working from home during the pandemic, traffic conditions improved considerably. As a result, the average commute time decreased for those people who did continue commuting for the first time in recent history. After rising steadily since 2010, the average commute time dipped to 26.9 minutes in 2020 and then dropped again to 25.6 minutes in 2021. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the average commute time was 27.6 minutes. Over the course of a year, on average, workers saved nearly 17 hours in commute time due to this decline.
Despite these improvements, workers in certain locations continue to face crippling traffic delays during certain times of the day. To determine the metropolitan areas that lose the most time in rush hour traffic, researchers at CoPilot analyzed the latest data from TomTom’s Traffic Index and the U.S. Census Bureau. Researchers ranked metros according to the extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic. Researchers also calculated the extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic, the extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic, the extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic, and the percentage of commuters that use private transportation.
U.S. Metros That Lose the Most Time in Rush Hour Traffic
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15. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +19.4 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +7.2 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +12.2 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +80.9 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 95.3%
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
14. Charleston-North Charleston, SC
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +20.4 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +7.8 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +12.6 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +85.2 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 95.6%
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13. New Orleans-Metairie, LA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +20.5 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +8.1 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +12.4 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +85.3 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 93.5%
Photo Credit: ESB Professional / Shutterstock
12. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +20.5 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +7.2 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +13.3 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +85.4 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 95.3%
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11. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +20.9 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +8.1 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +12.8 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +87.1 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 88.8%
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10. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +21.3 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +7.5 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +13.7 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +88.7 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 96.2%
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9. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +21.8 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +8.0 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +13.9 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +91.0 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 87.6%
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
8. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +22.0 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +8.0 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +14.0 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +91.6 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 94.1%
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7. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +22.6 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +9.3 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +13.3 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +94.4 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 83.2%
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
6. Birmingham-Hoover, AL
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +23.7 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +10.2 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +13.5 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +98.7 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 97.3%
Photo Credit: Felix Mizioznikov / Shutterstock
5. Baton Rouge, LA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +26.5 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +8.7 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +17.7 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +110.2 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 97.6%
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +27.5 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +11.8 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +15.8 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +114.7 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 93.0%
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3. Urban Honolulu, HI
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +28.0 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +12.6 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +15.5 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +116.8 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 86.9%
Photo Credit: ESB Professional / Shutterstock
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +29.6 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +11.7 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +18.0 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +123.5 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 91.0%
Photo Credit: William Perugini / Shutterstock
1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
- Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic: +31.7 minutes
- Extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic: +12.6 minutes
- Extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic: +19.1 minutes
- Extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic: +132.0 hours
- Percentage of commuters that use private transportation: 64.8%
Detailed Findings & Methodology
To determine the metropolitan areas that lose the most time in rush hour traffic, researchers at CoPilot analyzed the latest data from TomTom’s Traffic Index and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. The researchers ranked metros according to the extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic. In the event of a tie, the metro with the larger percentage of commuters that use private transportation—calculated using the ACS data—was ranked higher. Researchers also calculated the extra morning commute time due to rush hour traffic, the extra evening commute time due to rush hour traffic, and the extra annual commute time due to rush hour traffic. Extra commute time was calculated using TomTom’s congestion level percentages, applied to a standard 30-minute commute. For example, a 53% morning congestion level means that a commute will take 53% longer than in uncongested conditions. Thus, a hypothetical morning commute that would have taken 30 minutes without traffic would take 15.9 extra minutes due to traffic with a congestion level of 53%. Extra daily commute time due to rush hour traffic was calculated as the sum of extra morning and extra evening commute times, and extra annual commute time assumes that people commute 250 days per year.
