Out-of-State and Long Commutes: 2011

American Community Survey Reports

By Brian McKenzie Issued February 2013
ACS-20

A complex set of factors influences variation in commuting patterns across the United States, and multiple indicators may be considered when assessing such patterns. Among other factors, the relationship between home and work is influenced by community development patterns, labor market shifts, and technological changes that expand workers options for where and how to work. The American Community Survey (ACS) provides critical information about several aspects of commuting for U.S. workers. The ACS is an ongoing survey conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau that captures changes in the socioeconomic, housing, and demographic characteristics of communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.1 The ACS questions related to travel focus solely on the work trip and do not ask about leisure travel or other nonwork trips. Among other commuting questions, the ACS asks respondents in the workforce about their principal workplace location and the number of minutes it usually takes to get from home to work, one way. This report uses 2011 ACS data at the state level to explore two commuting indicators related to travel time and work location: (1) the percentage of commuters with long commutes (commutes of 60 minutes or longer) and (2) the percentage of workers who work
The ACS uses a series of monthly samples to produce annual estimates. Detailed questions that previously appeared on the decennial census long form are now included in the ACS, and the decennial census now produces a count of the nations population and a snapshot of its most basic demographic characteristics. Five years of ACS data collection are necessary to achieve a cumulative sample large enough to ensure respondent confidentiality for smaller communities and for small geographic units such as census tracts or block groups. For larger geographies, specifically those with populations of 65,000 or greater, estimates are available annually. For selected geographies with populations of 20,000 or greater, combined 3-year estimates are available.
1

outside of their state of residence. These topics are subsets of a much broader, more complex set of travel time and place indicators. The media occasionally discuss such commuting patterns within several contexts, including health, interstate commuter taxes, and shifts in the housing and labor markets. This report may serve as a baseline statistical reference point for such discussions. Unless otherwise noted, estimates refer to the working population who did not work at home.

HIGHLIGHTS
Among U.S. workers who did not work at home, 8.1 percent had commutes of 60 minutes or longer in 2011. An estimated 61.1 percent of workers with long commutes drove to work alone, compared with 79.9 percent for all workers who did not work at home. New York shows the highest rate of long commutes at 16.2 percent, followed by Maryland and New Jersey at 14.8 and 14.6 percent, respectively. The District of Columbia has the highest rate of outof-state commuters among its resident workers at 25.2 percent, followed by Maryland at 18.3 percent. Among all people who work in the District of Columbia, 72.4 percent live outside the District of Columbia. COMMUTES OF 60 MINUTES OR LONGER As a relative concept, the definition of a long commute varies across people and communities. For simplicity, this report defines long commutes as those of 60

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

census.gov

Figure 1.

Average One-Way Travel Time for U.S. Workers: 20002011

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Minutes 26

25

24

minutes or longer (one way). This threshold is well above the national average travel time of 25.5 minutes in 2011. Figure 1 shows that the national average travel time fluctuated little between 2000 and 2011. The 60-minute travel time threshold is also roughly twice that of metro areas with the longest average travel times, which exceed 30 minutes. For example, in 2011, workers in the New York City metro area and the Washington, DC, metro area had the two longest average travel times among metro areas, at 34.9 minutes and 34.5 minutes, respectively. Table 1 lists the distribution of commuting times across several intervals. The percentage of workers with commutes of 60 minutes or longer was 8.1 percent in 2011. Shorter travel time categories accounted for a relatively high percentage of commuters. For example, 15.5 percent of workers had commutes of 15 to 19 minutes, and 14.8 percent had commutes of 20 to 24 minutes. The percentage of workers with commutes of 60 minutes or longer was 8.0 percent in 2000, and this proportion has fluctuated little between 2000 and 2011, when it reached 8.1 percent (Figure 2). Commutes of 90 minutes or longer (extreme commutes) showed similar stability across years, at 2.8 percent in 2000 and 2.5 percent in 2011. Although this report focuses on commutes of 60 minutes or longer, reference to commuting rates of 90 minutes or longer illustrates the stability of travel time patterns at the national level, even among the most extreme commutes. This trend may be contrary to popular assumptions about national travel time patterns, which are likely to be informed

23

22

0 2000 Census 2006 ACS 2007 ACS 2008 ACS 2009 ACS 2010 ACS 2011 ACS

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 and 20062011 American Community Surveys.

What Is The American Community Survey? The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every year. It had a 2011 sample size of about 3.3 million addresses across the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities and prisons). The ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation and every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey. Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 2005 were released for geographic areas with populations of 65,000 and greater. For information on the ACS sample design and other topics, visit <www.census.gov/acs/www>.

U.S. Census Bureau

by local trends that show more variation. For the remainder of the report, long commutes will refer to those of 60 minutes or longer. Rates of long commutes vary across residence and workplace community types throughout metropolitan areas (Table 2).2 Workers residing outside of a principal city (in a metropolitan area) and working in a principal city show the highest rate of long commutes, at 12.5 percent. Among workers who travel 60 minutes or longer, those living and working outside of a principal city but in a metro area, had the lowest rate of long commutes, at 6.6 percent, a rate lower than that of workers living and working in principal cities, at 7.1 percent. Among workers engaging in a reverse commute, that is, living in a principal city and working outside of a principal city, 9.0 percent reported a long commute. Among workers living outside of a metro area, 7.1 percent had a long commute. The distribution of transportation modes used by workers with long commutes differs from that of the general worker population (Table 3). Among workers with long commutes, only 61.1 percent drove to work alone, compared with 79.9 percent for all workers who worked outside the home. Workers with long commutes had a notably higher rate of public transportation usage at 23.0 percent, compared with 5.3 percent for the general worker population. This difference might be expected, given
2 For more detailed information about the Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) standards for delineating metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, visit <www.census.gov/population/metro/>. This analysis uses 2003 OMB metro area definitions.

Table 1.

Travel Time to Work: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) One-way travel time interval Less than 10 minutes . . . . . . . . 10 to 14 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 to 19 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 24 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 29 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 to 34 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 44 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 or more minutes . . . . . . . . . . Percentage of workers 13 .4 14 .3 15 .5 14 .8 6 .1 13 .7 6 .4 7 .5 8 .1 Margin of error1 () 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1

1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

Figure 2.

Percentage of Workers With One-Way Commutes of 60 and 90 Minutes or Longer: 20002011

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Percent 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2000 Census 2006 ACS 2007 ACS 2008 ACS 2009 ACS 2010 ACS 2011 ACS
90 minutes or longer 60 minutes or longer

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 and 20062011 American Community Surveys.

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2.

Long Commutes by Residence and Workplace Community Type: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Home and workplace metropolitan area component All Workers Who Did Not Work at Home 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suburb to City (Lived in metro area outside any principal city, worked in any principal city) 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suburb to Suburb (Lived in metro area outside any principal city, worked outside any principal city) 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City to City (Lived in metro area in principal city, worked in any principal city) 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City to Suburb (Lived in metro area in principal city, worked outside any principal city) 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lived Outside of Any Metro Area 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total number of workers 121,496,438 10,779,412 Margin of error1 () 135,572 67,179 Percentage of workers 91 .9 8 .1 Margin of error1 ()

22,397,939 3,211,045

74,481 33,808

87 .5 12 .5

0 .1 0 .1

40,319,502 2,867,944

95,296 33,432

93 .4 6 .6

0 .1 0 .1

31,195,540 2,383,964

82,991 29,891

92 .9 7 .1

0 .1 0 .1

9,263,346 912,353 18,320,111 1,404,106

55,843 17,896 51,938 15,846

91 .0 9 .0 92 .9 7 .1

0 .2 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1

Represents or rounds to zero . 1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

Definitions A long commute refers to a one-way commute of 60 minutes or longer. Workers are civilians and members of the Armed Forces, 16 years and older, who were at work the previous week. Persons on vacation or not at work the prior week are not included. Means of transportation to work refers to the principal mode of travel that the worker usually used to get from home to work during the reference week. People who used different means of transportation on different days of the week were asked to specify the one they used most often. People who used more than one means of transportation to get to work each day were asked to report the one used for the longest distance during the work trip. Workers who worked at home are not included in information presented in this report unless otherwise stated. For more detailed definitions of these terms and other ACS terms, see the ACS subject definitions list at <www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/documentation_main/>. The largest city in each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is designated a principal city. Additional cities qualify if specified requirements are met concerning population size and employment. The title of each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area consists of the names of up to three of its principal cities and the name of each state into which the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area extends.

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

Commute Mode by Long Commute Status: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Commute mode All Workers Who Did Not Work at Home Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drove alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carpooled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subway or railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other public transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Workers With Travel Times of 1 to 59 Minutes Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drove alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carpooled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subway or railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other public transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Workers With Travel Times of 60 Minutes or Longer Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drove alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carpooled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subway or railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other public transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total number of workers 132,275,850 105,639,344 13,387,578 6,955,978 3,165,500 3,790,478 6,292,950 121,496,438 99,050,582 11,992,482 4,475,271 1,892,376 2,582,895 5,978,103 10,779,412 6,588,762 1,395,096 2,480,707 1,273,124 1,207,583 314,847 Margin of error1 () 131,412 118,012 69,112 46,380 37,776 34,742 51,927 135,572 121,894 63,735 35,094 25,018 26,132 49,233 67,179 47,638 25,020 29,476 22,299 21,835 10,799 Percentage of workers Margin of error1 ()

79 .9 10 .1 5 .3 2 .4 2 .9 4 .8

0 .1 0 .1

81 .5 9 .9 3 .7 1 .6 2 .1 4 .9

0 .1 0 .1

61 .1 12 .9 23 .0 11 .8 11 .2 2 .9

0 .3 0 .2 0 .2 0 .2 0 .2 0 .1

Represents or rounds to zero . 1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

that the average travel time for public transportation commuters is consistently longer than that of the general working population. Rail travel accounted for 11.8 percent of workers with long commutes, and other forms of public transportation accounted for 11.2 percent. Air travel is not included as a separate category in the ACS travel mode question, so it is not possible to determine the percentage of commutes by this mode. Table 4 shows the number and percentage of workers with long commutes for each state, organized by residence in each state and workers in each state. Figure 3 presents a map of the same information. For

workers living in a given state, New York shows the highest rate of long commutes at 16.2 percent, followed by Maryland and New Jersey at 14.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.3 These states and several others with high rates of long commutes among resident workers contain or are adjacent to large metropolitan areas. Workers in large metro areas such as New York City and Washington, DC, generally have longer average travel times than those in smaller metro areas. The map illustrates spatial patterns associated with long commutes. Several states in the Northeast have a high percentage of workers with
3 Values for Maryland and New Jersey are not statistically different from one another.

long commutes, while a distinct pocket of the Midwest, including Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and Iowa, has comparatively low rates of long commutes. Focusing on workers working in a given state rather than residing in it (Table 4), workers in the District of Columbia showed the highest rate of long commutes. More than a quarter (27.4 percent) of District of Columbia workers traveled 60 minutes or longer to get to work, notably higher than that of any other state. The District of Columbia is followed by New York, with 18.2 percent of its workers reporting long commutes. A high percentage of long commutes among a states

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 4.

Workers With Commutes of 60 Minutes or Longer by State: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Workers living in specified state, commuting 60 minutes or longer Total Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . . . Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,523 14,499 150,478 58,237 1,530,679 154,446 125,820 33,311 26,840 491,314 367,181 50,594 26,363 613,124 163,313 52,782 43,204 98,383 142,571 39,620 404,601 334,831 238,502 135,560 74,559 131,969 19,133 25,551 66,218 61,139 571,585 41,244 1,366,877 204,833 15,743 243,812 74,389 86,808 461,531 28,502 98,823 13,936 150,119 756,492 54,742 14,400 372,087 225,679 65,874 128,362 16,229 144,030 Margin of error1 () 5,536 2,275 9,174 4,679 24,369 8,769 5,966 3,253 2,702 15,109 13,478 4,327 2,486 15,004 6,673 3,376 3,304 4,844 5,709 2,740 9,963 9,878 7,534 5,289 4,749 6,425 2,056 2,538 6,070 4,065 12,190 4,119 21,358 7,532 1,928 8,132 3,898 5,296 10,197 2,516 5,139 1,902 6,911 16,873 4,156 1,461 10,484 7,886 3,981 5,118 2,199 6,779 Percent 5 .9 4 .4 6 .0 5 .0 10 .1 6 .6 7 .7 8 .3 9 .2 6 .4 9 .3 8 .2 4 .2 11 .0 5 .8 3 .7 3 .3 5 .6 7 .5 6 .6 14 .8 10 .9 6 .0 5 .3 6 .6 5 .1 4 .3 2 .9 5 .7 9 .7 14 .6 5 .0 16 .2 5 .1 4 .5 4 .9 4 .6 5 .5 8 .4 5 .9 5 .2 3 .6 5 .7 7 .0 4 .6 4 .8 10 .0 7 .7 9 .3 4 .8 5 .9 13 .9 Margin of error1 () 0 .3 0 .7 0 .4 0 .4 0 .2 0 .4 0 .4 0 .8 0 .9 0 .2 0 .3 0 .7 0 .4 0 .3 0 .2 0 .2 0 .2 0 .3 0 .3 0 .4 0 .4 0 .3 0 .2 0 .2 0 .4 0 .2 0 .5 0 .3 0 .5 0 .6 0 .3 0 .5 0 .2 0 .2 0 .6 0 .2 0 .2 0 .3 0 .2 0 .5 0 .3 0 .5 0 .3 0 .2 0 .3 0 .5 0 .3 0 .3 0 .6 0 .2 0 .8 0 .6 Workers working in specified state, commuting 60 minutes or longer Total 111,626 16,175 147,200 57,331 1,531,308 148,447 105,633 24,802 216,381 483,540 361,865 50,010 22,567 627,895 141,776 53,287 47,439 99,941 148,890 33,815 289,984 366,464 233,459 140,142 65,249 135,752 18,344 27,955 64,629 37,217 403,205 42,473 1,589,525 201,843 21,451 242,570 73,105 91,899 431,764 22,594 99,397 14,820 152,272 754,458 53,477 15,373 339,791 217,868 51,391 115,500 18,443 143,928 Margin of error1 () 5,573 2,643 9,284 4,453 24,531 8,422 6,203 2,292 9,537 15,711 13,130 4,296 2,137 15,829 6,290 3,506 4,060 5,085 6,032 2,591 8,704 10,482 7,185 5,640 4,905 6,341 1,916 2,687 6,061 3,077 10,681 4,043 23,149 8,011 2,242 8,109 4,291 5,544 8,807 2,748 5,913 1,830 7,238 17,435 4,050 1,560 10,411 7,913 3,169 4,504 2,490 6,785 Percent 6 .0 4 .8 5 .9 4 .9 10 .1 6 .4 6 .4 6 .3 27 .4 6 .4 9 .1 8 .1 3 .7 11 .3 5 .2 3 .7 3 .6 5 .6 7 .8 5 .8 11 .8 11 .7 6 .0 5 .5 6 .0 5 .2 4 .1 3 .1 5 .5 6 .3 11 .1 5 .2 18 .2 5 .1 5 .7 4 .9 4 .6 5 .7 7 .9 4 .8 5 .4 3 .8 5 .7 7 .0 4 .5 5 .2 9 .4 7 .6 7 .4 4 .4 6 .6 13 .9 Margin of error1 () 0 .3 0 .8 0 .4 0 .4 0 .2 0 .4 0 .4 0 .5 1 .0 0 .2 0 .3 0 .7 0 .4 0 .3 0 .2 0 .2 0 .3 0 .3 0 .3 0 .4 0 .3 0 .3 0 .2 0 .2 0 .4 0 .2 0 .4 0 .3 0 .5 0 .5 0 .3 0 .5 0 .2 0 .2 0 .6 0 .2 0 .3 0 .3 0 .2 0 .6 0 .3 0 .5 0 .3 0 .2 0 .3 0 .5 0 .3 0 .3 0 .4 0 .2 0 .9 0 .6

State

1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Note: Estimates do not include workers who worked at home . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 3.

U.S. Census Bureau

AK
(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Percentage of Workers Living in State With Commutes of 60 Minutes or Longer: 2011

WA MT ND MN SD WI MI PA IL CO KS MO TN AR MS TX LA FL AL GA KY IN OH WV VA NC SC NJ DE MD WY NE UT IA MI NY VT NH MA CT RI ID ME

OR

NV

CA

DC

AZ NM

OK

Percent of workers Less than 4 percent 4 to 5.9 percent 6 to 8.9 percent 9 to 11.9 percent 12 percent or greater National average: 8.1 percent

HI
Source: U. S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

workers may reflect several travel characteristics, such as long travel distances, high levels of congestion, or a diverse set of commute modes. At 3.8 percent of U.S. workers in 2011, out-of-state commutes represent a small portion of all workers, but a relatively high percentage of long commutes. Table 5 links the concept of long commutes to out-of-state commuting, showing that among workers who commute outside of their state of residence, 27.2 had long commutes, notably higher than the 7.4 percent of long commutes associated with workers who worked within their residence state. At 44.8 minutes, out-of-state workers also had a longer average travel time than in-state workers, who averaged 24.7 minutes (Figure 4). While out-of-state commutes are sometimes long, interstate commuting does not necessarily imply long distance travel. Interstate commutes may be relatively short, often reflecting incidental state boundaries that transect large expanses of urbanized space. Subsequent sections provide several

Figure 4.

Average Travel Time by Workplace Location: 2011

(In minutes. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) 44.8

25.5

24.7

All workers

Worked in state of residence

Worked outside state of residence

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

Table 5.

Long Commutes by Workplace Location: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Workplace location Worked in State of Residence 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Worked Outside State of Residence 1 to 59 minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 minutes or longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total number of workers 117,650,194 9,340,682 3,846,244 1,438,730 Margin of error1 () 134,323 61,519 28,056 23,490 Percentage of workers 92 .6 7 .4 72 .8 27 .2 Margin of error1 () 0 .3 0 .3

Represents or rounds to zero . 1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

U.S. Census Bureau

examples of metro areas that straddle two or more states. OUT-OF-STATE COMMUTES Table 6 provides estimates for two concepts of out-of-state commuting. The first set of estimates shows the number and percentage of workers who worked outside of their state of residence, and the second set of estimates shows the number and percentage of workers who worked in a given state and lived outside of that state.4 Estimates in Table 6 do not include workers who worked at home. The District of Columbia showed the highest rate of out-of-state commuters among its resident workers at 25.2 percent, followed by Maryland at 18.3 percent. Maryland and the District of Columbia represent states with a high degree of reciprocal residence-to-workplace ties. About 12.0 percent of Maryland workers commute to the District of Columbia for work, and about 13.0 percent of District of Columbia workers commute to Maryland. Table 6 also shows the percentage of people who work in a state that is different from their state of residence. The District of Columbia stood out as a work location with a particularly high rate of out-of-state workers. Among all people who work in the District of Columbia, 72.4 percent live in a different state. The District of Columbia is unique among states in that it is geographically small, the entire area is urban, and it serves as a job center for all of its adjoining counties in Maryland and Virginia. Together, persons living
4 Includes the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

in Maryland and Virginia accounted for 70.4 percent of all workers who work in the District of Columbia. No other states workforce exceeded 20.0 percent in its rate of out-of-state commuters. In addition to the District of Columbia, five states, all with relatively small populations, had rates of 10.0 percent or higher. Among these are several geographically small states in the Northeast, including Delaware, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. At 11.6 percent, North Dakota also showed a relatively high rate of workers who live in a different state, with Minnesota accounting for the largest share of out-of-state workers, at 29,449. Information about commuting activity between two specific geographic areas helps define commuting patterns and provides a gauge of economic interconnectedness. When combined, information about workers residence location and workplace location form the basis of residence-to-workplace commuting flows. For a list of state-to-state commuting flows and associated margins of error available for download, see <www.census.gov/hhes /commuting/>. This table provides the number of commuters who live in a given state and travel to a different state for work. It shows considerable variation across states in attracting workers from other states. For example, only four states draw 100 or more workers who reside in Alaska, but states such as California and Texas draw 100 or more workers from more than 40 different states. While some commuters may

routinely fly to far-away states for work purposes, readers should assume that many of these crosscountry trips represent infrequent work-related travel.5 Table 7 shows 15 of the top stateto-state commuting flows according to the number of workers commuting from one state to another. Consistent with patterns in Table 6, Table 7 shows a high degree of interconnectedness among states that make up large metropolitan areas in the Northeastern United States. It also shows a considerable degree of reciprocal exchange of workers among several state pairs, such as New Jersey and New York, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Contiguity and spatial proximity clearly exert influence on commuting activity between states. Commuting flow patterns for several state pairs are largely driven by commutes that occur within one large metro area that spans two or more states. For example, a great deal of commuting between Missouri and Kansas takes place within the Kansas City metro area, and Portland, Oregons, suburbs in Washington state account for much of the commuting between those states. While the percentage of long commutes has changed little at the national level, some communities
5 The ACS asks respondents in the workforce about their principal workplace location during the reference week, a week that may not represent their typical commute. Placeof-work data show some workers who made atypical daily work trips (e.g., workers who lived in New York and worked in California). Such cases may represent workers who worked during the reference week at a location that was different from their usual place of work, such as people away from home on business.

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Table 6.

Out-of-State Workers by State: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Workers living in state, but working in different state Total Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . . . Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . 85,653 1,643 48,380 44,014 76,452 33,969 104,332 65,449 73,476 91,586 119,140 4,935 38,600 198,936 162,191 68,769 102,230 115,904 41,724 27,855 500,637 136,843 85,559 71,556 92,602 156,253 6,827 28,034 25,112 107,062 548,040 24,582 233,990 100,320 14,119 151,760 44,359 38,275 299,970 75,143 96,459 10,869 102,514 126,741 15,744 21,457 353,492 106,585 85,538 111,719 7,575 1,320 Margin of error1 () 4,549 688 5,242 3,536 4,738 3,424 4,883 4,802 4,056 5,628 6,433 1,133 3,598 8,311 6,398 2,788 5,150 5,757 3,452 2,576 12,628 6,138 3,915 3,186 5,806 6,114 1,146 2,634 2,702 4,674 12,944 3,304 9,032 7,010 2,019 5,776 3,146 3,213 8,713 4,783 5,781 1,322 5,910 7,189 1,812 1,613 11,790 5,079 4,534 4,246 1,579 538 Percent 4 .5 0 .5 1 .9 3 .7 0 .5 1 .5 6 .4 16 .4 25 .2 1 .2 3 .0 0 .8 6 .1 3 .6 5 .8 4 .8 7 .7 6 .6 2 .2 4 .7 18 .3 4 .5 2 .2 2 .8 8 .1 6 .0 1 .5 3 .2 2 .2 17 .0 14 .0 3 .0 2 .8 2 .5 4 .1 3 .1 2 .8 2 .4 5 .4 15 .6 5 .1 2 .8 3 .9 1 .2 1 .3 7 .2 9 .5 3 .6 12 .1 4 .2 2 .8 0 .1 Margin of error1 () 0 .2 0 .2 0 .2 0 .3 0 .1 0 .3 1 .1 1 .3 0 .1 0 .2 0 .2 0 .6 0 .1 0 .2 0 .2 0 .4 0 .3 0 .2 0 .4 0 .4 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .5 0 .2 0 .3 0 .3 0 .2 0 .7 0 .3 0 .4 0 .1 0 .2 0 .6 0 .1 0 .2 0 .2 0 .2 0 .9 0 .3 0 .3 0 .2 0 .1 0 .2 0 .5 0 .3 0 .2 0 .6 0 .2 0 .6 0 .1 Workers working in state, but living in different state Total 47,135 8,791 21,652 43,003 71,874 18,602 104,197 58,119 572,256 50,954 119,273 4,880 16,677 191,046 113,438 72,482 111,158 138,776 54,238 10,562 223,634 196,931 44,407 77,074 45,889 193,835 5,819 45,923 31,936 63,195 282,295 21,704 556,295 104,319 43,812 153,054 33,110 84,219 248,693 59,696 67,333 16,052 148,220 109,746 15,962 20,999 245,241 59,033 68,849 65,318 14,498 683 Margin of error1 () 3,835 1,637 2,521 3,347 5,089 2,035 5,883 3,735 13,897 4,245 6,556 1,393 1,842 7,704 6,060 3,446 5,028 6,001 4,827 1,614 8,172 7,640 3,361 3,342 3,572 7,970 1,466 3,026 3,335 3,070 8,405 2,656 14,236 6,000 3,006 5,447 3,327 5,110 8,757 4,378 5,255 1,830 6,564 5,824 2,599 2,245 8,079 4,719 3,754 4,410 1,762 339 Percent 2 .5 2 .6 0 .9 3 .7 0 .5 0 .8 6 .4 14 .8 72 .4 0 .7 3 .0 0 .8 2 .7 3 .4 4 .1 5 .0 8 .4 7 .8 2 .8 1 .8 9 .1 6 .3 1 .1 3 .0 4 .2 7 .4 1 .3 5 .1 2 .7 10 .8 7 .8 2 .7 6 .4 2 .6 11 .6 3 .1 2 .1 5 .2 4 .6 12 .8 3 .6 4 .1 5 .5 1 .0 1 .3 7 .1 6 .8 2 .0 10 .0 2 .5 5 .2 0 .1 Margin of error1 () 0 .2 0 .5 0 .1 0 .3 0 .1 0 .3 0 .8 0 .8 0 .1 0 .2 0 .2 0 .3 0 .1 0 .2 0 .2 0 .4 0 .3 0 .2 0 .3 0 .3 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .3 0 .3 0 .3 0 .3 0 .3 0 .5 0 .2 0 .3 0 .2 0 .1 0 .7 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .2 0 .9 0 .3 0 .5 0 .2 0 .1 0 .2 0 .7 0 .2 0 .2 0 .5 0 .2 0 .6

State

Represents or rounds to zero . 1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Note: Estimates do not include workers who worked at home . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

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U.S. Census Bureau

Table 7.

Top Commuting Flows From Residence State to Workplace State: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/) Sending (residence) state New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Workplace state New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of workers 396,520 330,171 226,407 128,891 123,650 121,698 113,150 95,599 87,257 85,567 80,630 73,498 68,236 66,652 63,276 Margin of error1 () 11,490 10,226 9,251 6,429 5,307 5,768 5,702 4,594 4,744 4,196 4,795 4,666 4,840 4,027 4,619

1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimates variability . The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate . When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval . Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey .

have experienced notable changes in long commuting rates over time. While such community-level analysis is beyond the scope of this short report, some of the measures presented here, including out-ofstate and out-of-county commuting rates and travel time indicators, are available to the public for smaller geographic summary levels such as metro areas or counties.6 Such data may be obtained from the U.S. Census Bureaus American FactFinderII site.7 SOURCE AND ACCURACY The data presented in this report are based on the ACS sample
6 For information on out-of-state and outof-county commuting rates, see ACS Table B08007; for information on travel time, see ACS Table B08012. 7 See <www.Factfinder2.census.gov>.

interviewed in 2011. The estimates based on this sample approximate the actual values and represent the entire U.S. resident household and group quarters population. Sampling error is the difference between an estimate based on a sample and the corresponding value that would be obtained if the estimate were based on the entire population (as from a census). Measures of the sampling errors are provided in the form of margins of error for all estimates included in this report. All comparative statements in this report have undergone statistical testing, and comparisons are significant at the 90 percent level unless otherwise noted. In addition to sampling error, nonsampling error may be introduced during any of the operations used to collect and process

survey data such as editing, reviewing, or keying data from questionnaires. For more information on sampling and estimation methods, confidentiality protection, and sampling and nonsampling errors, please see the 2011 ACS Accuracy of the Data document located at <www.census.gov/acs /www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of _Data_2011.pdf>. For more information about the commuting patterns of U.S. workers, go to the U.S. Census Bureaus Journey to Work and Migration Statistics Branch Web site, at <www.census.gov/hhes /commuting/>, or contact the Journey to Work and Migration Statistics Branch at 301-763-2454.

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