Traffic jams on a Los Angeles freeway during the evening rush hour on April 12, 2023 in Alhambra, California. (Getty Images)
It's no secret that Southern California's highways are extremely congested, especially during rush hour, and new data shows Southern California workers have some of the longest and grueling commutes in the nation. is suggested.
The study, conducted by Business Resources LLC.org, analyzed commute times for full-time workers across 530 occupations in 170 of America's most populous cities.
According to LLC.org, flight attendants have the longest average commutes of any U.S. worker, with many employees taking nearly two hours round trip, and that's not counting all the time they spend at the airport and on the plane. Not that there are.
“Overall, the average round-trip commute time for flight attendants is approximately 1 hour and 57 minutes,” the researchers said. “Aircraft pilots and flight technicians are in similar positions, with an average round-trip commute of 1 hour and 47 minutes. Elsewhere in the travel industry, road safety inspectors are the profession with the worst commute times, with an average round-trip commute of 70 minutes. It's in the top 25.
The study found that the majority of the 25 occupations with the longest commute times were blue-collar jobs, such as mining equipment operator (90 minutes). Elevator and Escalator Installer/Repairer (88 minutes). Steelworkers (84 minutes) and Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installation Workers (76 minutes).
Media and communications workers rank 17th with a commute time of 72 minutes.
By city, Southern California cities account for half of the top 10 longest commutes in the United States, including top spot Palmdale.
According to LLC.org, the average round-trip commute for Palmdale residents is just over 90 minutes, which equates to about 371 hours a year, or about 15 and a half days in total.
No. 5 on LLC.org's list of longest commutes is Moreno Valley. Although much less than Palmdale, Moreno Valley commuters still spend an average of 1 hour and 10 minutes commuting, which equates to his 11.9 days a year commuting by car.
Just behind Moreno Valley is Corona, which has the sixth-longest commute in the nation at 68 minutes round trip. His other two Southern California cities in the top 10 are Fontana (average round-trip commute time of 66 minutes) and Palmdale's twin city of Lancaster (average round-trip commute time of 65 minutes).
The table below shows the top 50 cities with the worst commuter traffic in America.
rank | city | state | Round trip commuting | annual commute |
1. | palmdale | California | 91 minutes | 371.58 hours (15.5 days) |
2. | new york city | new york | 81.40 minutes | 332.38 hours (13.8 days) |
3. | jersey city | new jersey | 74.80 minutes | 305.43 hours (12.7 days) |
Four. | yonkers | new york | 72.80 minutes | 297.27 hours (12.4 days) |
Five. | Moreno Valley | California | 70 minutes | 285.83 hours (11.9 days) |
6. | corona | California | 68.40 minutes | 279.30 hours (11.6 days) |
7. | Chicago | illinois | 67 minutes | 273.58 hours (11.4 days) |
8. | fontana | California | 66.60 minutes | 271.95 hours (11.3 days) |
9. | lancaster | California | 65.80 minutes | 268.68 hours (11.2 days) |
Ten. | stockton | California | 65.40 minutes | 267.05 hours (11.1 days) |
11. | Rancho Cucamonga | California | 65.40 minutes | 267.05 hours (11.1 days) |
12. | Hollywood | florida | 65.40 minutes | 267.05 hours (11.1 days) |
13. | Santa Clarita | California | 64 minutes | 261.33 hours (10.9 days) |
14. | Philadelphia | pennsylvania | 63 minutes | 257.25 hours (10.7 days) |
15. | pomona | California | 62.80 minutes | 256.43 hours (10.7 days) |
16. | newark | new jersey | 62.80 minutes | 256.43 hours (10.7 days) |
17. | Ontario | California | 62.40 minutes | 254.80 hours (10.6 days) |
18. | elk grove | California | 62.40 minutes | 254.80 hours (10.6 days) |
19. | boston | Massachusetts | 61 minutes | 249.08 hours (10.4 days) |
20. | wreath | texas | 60.40 minutes | 246.63 hours (10.3 days) |
twenty one. | Los Angeles | California | 60.40 minutes | 246.63 hours (10.3 days) |
twenty two. | Washington DC | — | 60.20 minutes | 245.82 hours (10.2 days) |
twenty three. | hayward | California | 60 minutes | 245:00 (10.2 days) |
twenty four. | pembroke pines | florida | 59.60 minutes | 243.37 hours (10.1 days) |
twenty five. | chula vista | California | 59.60 minutes | 243.37 hours (10.1 days) |
26. | riverside | California | 59.60 minutes | 243.37 hours (10.1 days) |
27. | cape coral | florida | 59.40 minutes | 242.55 hours (10.1 days) |
28. | auckland | California | 59.20 minutes | 241.73 hours (10.1 days) |
29. | San Francisco | California | 59 minutes | 240.92 hours (10 days) |
30. | long sandy beach | California | 58.80 minutes | 240.10 hours (10 days) |
31. | escondido | California | 58 minutes | 236.83 hours (9.9 days) |
32. | miami | florida | 58 minutes | 236.83 hours (9.9 days) |
33. | grand prairie | texas | 57.60 minutes | 235.20 hours (9.8 days) |
34. | baltimore | maryland | 57.60 minutes | 235.20 hours (9.8 days) |
35. | Hialeah | florida | 57.40 minutes | 234.38 hours (9.8 days) |
36. | alexandria | Virginia | 57.40 minutes | 234.38 hours (9.8 days) |
37. | port st lucie | florida | 57 minutes | 232.75 hours (9.7 days) |
38. | modesto | California | 57 minutes | 232.75 hours (9.7 days) |
39. | huntington beach | California | 57 minutes | 232.75 hours (9.7 days) |
40. | san bernardino | California | 56.20 minutes | 229.48 hours (9.6 days) |
41. | garden glove | California | 56 minutes | 228.67 hours (9.5 days) |
42. | salinas | California | 55.80 minutes | 227.85 hours (9.5 days) |
43. | aurora | colorado | 55.80 minutes | 227.85 hours (9.5 days) |
44. | Fort Lauderdale | florida | 55.40 minutes | 226.22 hours (9.4 days) |
45. | aurora | illinois | 55.20 minutes | 225.40 hours (9.4 days) |
46. | frisco | texas | 55.20 minutes | 225.40 hours (9.4 days) |
47. | glendale | arizona | 54.80 minutes | 223.77 hours (9.3 days) |
48. | houston | texas | 54.60 minutes | 222.95 hours (9.3 days) |
49. | Fremont | California | 54.20 minutes | 221:32 (9.2 days) |
50. | anaheim | California | 54 minutes | 220.50 hours (9.2 days) |
According to LLC.org, commute times for workers 16 and older are increasing nationwide. That's partly because fewer Americans are working from home since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, they say.
“Whether maintaining a hybrid work schedule or working in-person at the workplace, this decline in remote work is leading to a sharp increase in the number of commuters,” the researchers noted. “YoY, the average round-trip commute time has increased by 392 minutes, which is an increase of approximately 7 hours per year.”
The full study, including a breakdown of commute times by occupation, can be read here.