While commute times are on the rise nationwide, Long Island renters luck out with relatively short work hauls compared to homeowners, according to a Trulia report. Trulia analyzed the Census 2014 American Community Survey data to reveal some interesting trends regarding commute trends, including rising work-related travel times across major metros — from 26.4 minutes in 2009 to 27.2 minutes in 2014.
On national average, renters spend one-and-a-half minutes less per day commuting to work compared to homeowners, which adds up to 8.7 hours in saved time annually, according to the Trulia analysis. One of the main reasons, the reports says, is that lessees are more likely to live closer to work and use public transportation more often than homeowners in the same city, cutting down traffic-related travel significantly.
New York: longest commute in the country
Unfortunately for New York City residents, the average commute time for both renters and homeowners in NYC is the slowest in the nation. The average commute time in NYC is 34.7 minutes each way for both sides.
[graphiq id=”4okanOzD4eV” title=”Commute Time Distribution in New York City, NY” width=”600″ height=”503″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/4okanOzD4eV” link=”http://places.findthehome.com/l/71121/New-York-City-NY” link_text=”Commute Time Distribution in New York City, NY | FindTheHome”]
Long Island has an average commute time of 33 minutes, and while homeowners suffer through 32.8 minutes traveling to and from their homes in Long Island to workplaces throughout NYC, renters in the neighborhood have an average commute time of just 29.3 minutes.
How important is getting to work rapidly?
Just 15.9 percent of working Americans indicated that short commutes or living close to buses or trains was high priority in their home searching process.
However, millennials in the renting category tend to value short commute times or living close to public transportation over other criteria, like low crime rates. In the 18 to 34-year-old group, 22 percent of respondents rated decreased driving or riding times highly, while 14.4 percent valued low crime rates as essential in choosing a neighborhood.
Best cities for commuters
The Empire State won and lost in terms of best and worst commute times, with two of its top cities stealing each title. Buffalo ranked the best metro for commuters across the board, with an average commute time of 20.3 minutes, average renter commute time of 19 minutes and average homeowner commute time of 20.4 minutes.
Columbus came in second, with work-related travel times averaging 21.8 minutes. Hartford and Milwaukee both had average commute times of 22.3 minutes. Las Vegas and Memphis tied with average commute times of 22.5 minutes, while Virginia Beach came in seventh with 22.6 minutes in average travel-to-work time. West Palm Beach, San Diego and Cincinnati rounded out the top 10.
