Surprising Alabama metro named worst place in US for commuters
A daily work commute – long, short and everywhere in between – is a fact for many people. Just how frustrating that drive to work is all depends on where you live.
A recent ranking by HireaHelper.com analyzed U.S. Census Bureau transportation data to determine the places in the U.S. with the worst commutes. Metro areas were ranked by average one-way commute times; share of workers who commute using private transportation; diversity of times that people leave for work; share of occupied households with access to a vehicle; and population density.
An Alabama area was ranked as the worst place for commuters among all small-sized metros. Florence/Muscle Shoals came in at number one, topping places like East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Spartanburg, South Carolina and Dover, Delaware for the worst work-day drive in the country.
Mobile made the list for mid-size metros, landing at number 12 behind Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida.
Small metros were those with populations of 100,000 to 349,999. Mid-size metros are those with populations between 350,000–999,999.
Large Alabama metro on list
A large Alabama metro also made the list.
Birmingham-Hoover was ranked as the ninth worst large metro for commuters.
Data was provided for the large metro rankings and here’s how Birmingham scored:
- Average one-way commute time: 26.2 minutes
- Share of workers who commute using private transportation: 84%
- Diversity of times that people leave for work: Above average
- Share of occupied households with access to a vehicle: 95.3%
- Population density (people per square mile): 248.2
Large metros are those with populations of at least a million.