YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY
The March 2015 Brookings report titled "The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America" lists the typical commute distances for 96 large metro areas in the U.S. Here are the areas where workers have the longest commutes by mileage and the shortest.
PACK A LUNCH IN...
1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell -- 12.8 miles
2. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX / Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (tie) -- 12.2 miles
3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ -- 11.4 miles
4. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN -- 11.0 miles
5. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI -- 10.4 miles
YOUR COFFEE'S STILL HOT IN...
1. Stockton-Lodi, CA -- 4.7 miles
2. New Haven-Milford, CT -- 5.0 miles
3. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA -- 5.2 miles
4. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA -- 5.3 miles
5. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT -- 5.4 miles
Note: Typical commute distance is defined as the median within-metro-area commute distance
Source: Brookings Institution analysis of 2011 Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data
Everything's bigger in Texas, they say. Okay, sure. Maybe so. But there's one rather dubious competition in which the Lone Star State is getting... well, gassed.
When it comes to the amount of miles it takes for us to reach our workplaces, Atlanta takes the checkered flag.
In a report just released by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings listing the typical commute distances for workers in 96 large metro areas around the U.S., we just lapped some major competition, including Chicago, Los Angeles and our buddies to the west out on I-20. (Try harder, Birmingham. Only 10.1 miles? Really?)
Atlanta's 12.8-mile commute topped all comers, but Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston are right there in our rear-view mirror at 12.2 miles each.
Meanwhile, the people of Stockton, California, are probably sitting at their desks right now, wondering what all the fuss is about.
After all, it's only a 4.7-mile commute for them.
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