Households consider many factors when deciding to move, such as the cost of housing and the quality of schools. But economic research has found that the length of your commute to work also plays a significant role in economic well-being and overall happiness. The average commute for U.S. workers in 2015 was 26 minutes (which is 52 minutes round trip). But there’s much variation in commuting times across the country. The map shows the average commute time to work for each county in 2015.

Traffic congestion along the coasts is quite evident in this picture. The county with the longest average commute is Pike County, Pennsylvania: 43.9 minutes. The second-longest commute is Bronx County, New York: 43.0 minutes. The 16 U.S. counties with the shortest commute times aren’t pictured on the map because they’re in Alaska and Hawaii. Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, has an average commute time of 4.9 minutes. Wheatland County, Montana, has the shortest average commute in the continental U.S. at 9.6 minutes.

How this map was created: The original post referenced an interactive map from our now discontinued GeoFRED site. The revised post provides a replacement map from FRED’s new mapping tool. To create FRED maps, go to the data series page in question and look for the green “VIEW MAP” button at the top right of the graph. See this post for instructions to edit a FRED map. Only series with a green map button can be mapped.

Suggested by Charles Gascon.