Top 10 states with longest work commutes revealed — No. 1 may not surprise you

Asia Grace
·3-min read
Map of US with trains, buses, taxies and cars driving.
According to an April 2024 from the US Department of Energy found New York to be the state with the longest work commutes in the country.

If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere — just consider extra time for travel.

Commuting to, from and around the “city so nice that they named it twice” can be a pain. Rush hour traffic, random street closures and mass transit delays are all daily grind nuisances.

But the harrowing hassle of hustling and busting isn’t limited to the city’s limits.

An April 2024 report from the US Department of Energy found that New Yorkers have the longest commutes in the country. Getty Images
An April 2024 report from the US Department of Energy found that New Yorkers have the longest commutes in the country. Getty Images

“Workers in New York State [have] the longest commute times,” stated an April 2024 report from the US Department of Energy.

The DOE, which manages the nation’s nuclear infrastructure and administers the country’s energy policy, used 2022 data on the average 9-to-5er’s one-way travel time to work to compile a list of the top 10 worst states for commuting.

Researchers determined that most New Yorkers spend approximately 33.2 minutes during their trek to the office.

And while riding in a train, bus or car for just over a half hour might not sound so terrible, the trip has yet earned the Empire State the No. 1 spot on the longest commute roster.

Straphangers in Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have it almost as bad.

The findings revealed that folks in each province, too, lose a little more than 30 minutes of their lives high-tailing it to their cubicles Monday through Friday.

The DOE found that folks in New York spend an average of 33.2 minutes commuting to work each day. Getty Images
The DOE found that folks in New York spend an average of 33.2 minutes commuting to work each day. Getty Images
Like New Yorkers, residents of Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. spend more than 30 minutes a day hiking it to their desks. Monstar Studio – stock.adobe.com
Like New Yorkers, residents of Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. spend more than 30 minutes a day hiking it to their desks. Monstar Studio – stock.adobe.com
Researchers blamed lengthy work travel times on traffic and city congestion. Helayne Seidman
Researchers blamed lengthy work travel times on traffic and city congestion. Helayne Seidman

DOE analysts attributed the lengthy jaunts around the densely populated states to “traffic and urban sprawl.”

The experts also noted that the average one-way commute time across the US is approximately 27 minutes.

But staffers in the Midwest have it the best.

The DOE used 2022 data on the average 9-to-5er’s one-way travel time to work. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
The DOE used 2022 data on the average 9-to-5er’s one-way travel time to work. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

“South Dakota and North Dakota had average commute times of less than 18 minutes,” read the report.

Workers in similarly provincial regions such as Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana also enjoy quickie shuffles just under the 20-minute mark.

However, some business bigwigs don’t mind a long haul.

A number of self-proclaimed “super commuters” have recently said that taking long trips to work isn’t as taxing as haters might assume. BullRun – stock.adobe.com
A number of self-proclaimed “super commuters” have recently said that taking long trips to work isn’t as taxing as haters might assume. BullRun – stock.adobe.com

NYC “super commuter” Susan Miller gladly hops on a plane every week to work as a full-time professor at the University of Michigan.

And hairdresser Kaitlin Jay, 30, told The Post she’s perfectly content spending nearly six hours commuting door-to-door from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina to work at an Upper West Side salon on a biweekly basis.

“I love what I do in New York and I love life in Charlotte,” she said. “I get the best of both worlds.”

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • People 'banned' from mowing lawns until date in July after warning

    The UK has been hit by a cold and wet April, but gardeners are being urged to hold off on mowing their lawns until a certain date in July at the earliest

  • Huge thunderstorm hits London with 'biblical' rain as Met Office issues travel and flood warning

    ‘Biblical’ and ‘crazy’ storm jolts many Londoners from their beds as Met Office warns of possible disruption

  • Met Office issue yellow weather warning for thunderstorms and massive rainfall

    Up to 50mm of rain in the space of a few hours is expected to fall in parts of Wales as storms batter the country

  • WATCH: Woman's shock after finding South American monkey in her conservatory at home

    A woman was left 'hysterical' after discovering a South American marmoset monkey in her conservatory at her home.

  • A Russian zoo said it sent peacocks to the front to 'inspire' troops. It deleted its post after people used it to mock Putin.

    The Russian zoo said it hoped the peacocks would "brighten up soldiers' everyday life," but it deleted the post after getting comments insulting Putin.

  • Weather maps turn dark red as Iberian plume to bring four days of sunshine to UK

    The Met Office said 'sunnier conditions are expected'

  • Warning for thunderstorms before sunshine could bring warmest day of 2024

    Two yellow weather warnings have been issued for the UK, with heavy rain falling over parts of the country on Wednesday night.

  • Yellow weather warnings advise of thunderstorms in southern England and Wales

    The threat of thunderstorms comes as many parts have been enjoying a short period of sunny weather.

  • Dozens killed in highway collapse in China

    An expressway disintegrated, sending cars plummeting down a hill in Guangdong province in southern China. CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout has the details

  • Council warns public 'do not feed red kites'

    The public has been urged to stop feeding red kites as they're getting "bolder" by swooping down for food.

  • London thunderstorms and 'sudden flooding' in latest weather warning

    The Met Office has provided advice to prepare for potential lighting strikes, powercuts, floods and high winds

  • UK set for '500 mile rain bomb' with May braced to be 'washout' month

    The weather is set to change dramatically in the middle of May as mild temperatures are banished by a bleak outlook - with the fifth month of the year set to be a WASHOUT

  • Why scientists are making jet fuel from landfill gas

    STORY: What if the carbon dioxide and methane that this landfill emits could power an airplane......and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time? Australian researchers say they’ve come up with a way to do just that.And it could help the aviation industry meet its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050."I think the impact is very significant because unusually you have a win-win approach here."This is PJ Cullen, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Sydney.He says he's developed a method that takes greenhouse gases - like CO2 and methane - and converts them into fuel through a chemical process using plasma."In one sense, we have this idea that we're going to be capturing emissions that are coming from landfill. On the other, we have a sector that really needs a new technology in order to become more sustainable. The aviation industry accounts for approximately three percent of the world's emissions. So clearly, you cannot get to net zero without producing some sustainable solutions."Sustainable aviation fuel is typically five times more expensive than traditional jet fuel.Cullen is hoping that will change with the new process."We're able to take cheap or maybe even free electricity through a conversion process and produce useful chemicals."Meanwhile, the methane being used in the process also helps solve another key issue in sustainability:Methane emissions from human activities have driven about a third of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution.Richard Kirkman is the CEO of waste management company Veolia for Australia and New Zealand.He thinks all of Australia's waste could one day be converted into energy."All the household waste, all the biowaste, all the sludges from water treatment – you can convert it into energy. That can supplement about 10 percent of Australia’s energy supply. That’s a massive amount in terms of mitigating climate change. // This site produces 2 million cubes of methane every year and that’s enough to make 500,000 barbecue gas bottles. That’s a lot of sausage.”Cullen says the new method still needs to be scaled and incorporated into established workflows.“What's good about the process is actually it's very consistent so we can model how much gas will be coming off with these landfills per year."

  • Norfolk zoo announces departure of exotic animals

    Banham Zoo, in south Norfolk, has announced the departure of some of its exotic animals.

  • Indonesia volcano eruption shuts more airports, ash reaches Malaysia

    Eruptions at a remote Indonesian volcano forced more than half a dozen airports to close with ash spreading as far as Malaysia, officials said Wednesday, while authorities rushed to evacuate thousands due to tsunami fears.Mount Ruang erupted three times on Tuesday, spewing lava and ash more than five kilometres (three miles) into the sky and forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for 12,000 locals.

  • Met Office Weather 2nd May

    Met Office Weather 2nd May

  • Plant Operators Know Importance of Pumps and Piping Systems

    Efficiency, safety, and providing support for optimal performance are key considerations when choosing equipment to move water and fuels through a power plant. Power plant operators know the importance of

  • Man says his emotional support alligator, known for its big social media audience, has gone missing

    A Pennsylvania man who credits an alligator named Wally for helping relieve his depression for nearly a decade says he is searching for the reptile after it went missing during a vacation to the coast of Georgia. Joie Henney has thousands of social media users following his pages devoted to Wally, the cold-blooded companion that he calls his emotional support alligator. Wally's popularity soared to new heights last year when the gator was denied entry to a Philadelphia Phillies game.

  • Company director drowned in neck-deep Storm Babet floods, inquest hears

    Trevor Furniss, 66, was one of seven people to have died during Storm Babet in October last year after becoming “disorientated” while trying to navigate through fast-moving flood water

  • Stunning Timelapse Captures Lightning Storm at Oklahoma-Texas Border

    Timelapse footage captured a stunning lightning storm at the Oklahoma-Texas border on Tuesday, April 30.Photographer Matt Lantz said he filmed this footage facing Loveland, Oklahoma, from “just across the Red River in North Texas.”“The Loveland, OK storm in full beast mode having its way in southern Oklahoma last night,” Lantz wrote on Twitter.Severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings were issued for areas around Loveland, Oklahoma, and Burkburnett, Texas, on Tuesday. Credit: Matt Lantz via Storyful