How Does the Boston Area Compare on Commute Times?

BOSTON, MA — Commuters in and around Boston are seeing trips to work well above the state average, according to new data released in a U.S. Census survey for 2015.

On average, Suffolk County commuters take about 31.9 minutes to get to work, more than two minutes longer than the rest of the state. That's also grown by a full minute since 2014.

In Boston proper, according the the census data, that average travel time is 31.4 minutes, with roughly 37.4% of people driving and another 34.5% using public transit. It's also grown by about a minute since 2014.

In Suffolk County as a whole, the breakdown of how people are getting to work looks something like this:

• Car, truck, van (driving alone): 39.2%
• Car, truck, or van (carpooling): 6.4%
• Public transportation (taxicabs excluded): 33.8%
• Walking: 15.1%
• Other means: 2.4%
• Worked at home: 3%

In 2014, commuting methods looked more like this:

• Car, truck, van (driving alone): 40.8%
• Car, truck, or van (carpooling): 6.6%
• Public transportation (taxicabs excluded): 32.9%
• Walking: 13%
• Other means: 3.6%
• Worked at home: 3.1%

The U.S. Census performs the American Community Survey each year, asking questions about housing, employment and other demographic information. The findings are released for states and major metro areas each September, and complete data on every community is released toward the end of the year.

See how Massachusetts commute times compared to the rest of the country here.

Image via mass.gov