How Far Do You Commute, Birmingham?

With a few exceptions here and there, there aren't too many of us who enjoy the daily commute to and from work. But how long is that commute for Oakland County residents and where are we going, anyway?

According to data released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau, the average one-way, daily commute for U.S. workers is 25.5 minutes.

For Birmingham's lucky residents, meanwhile, our commute time comes in a few seconds under the national average, at 23.1 minutes.

Noteworthy in the census report is how many commuters are leaving their home county for work. The report notes that one in four commuters are leaving their county for work. 

Plus, nearly 600,000 workers across the country have a "megacommute" of at least 50 miles, spending at least 90 minutes on the road.

In total, more than 170,000 Oakland County residents are leaving the county for work everyday, with 60 percent commuting to Wayne County. However, most Oakland County residents aren't traveling too far: only 5.7 percent of county residents travel more than 60 minutes one-way.

Meanwhile, Oakland County continues to be a lucrative place to work and has among the highest number of workers from other counties, according to a report from Crains Detroit.

Where are they working? The biggest employers in Oakland County, Crains reports, are the Beaumont Health System, Chrysler Group, General Motors, Trinity Health and St. John Providence Health System.

So how does Birmingham compare? According to a breakdown from the U.S. Census Bureau, published last week on Slate, the average commute time for the 48009 zip code is 23.1 minutes.

In nearby West Bloomfield and parts of Troy, meanwhile, that commute time exceeds 25 minutes in places while in Huntington Woods, located to Birmingham's south along Woodward, the average commute time is as low at 19.8 minutes.

This data corresponds to similar breakdowns from The Business Journals, which noted in early 2012 that 40 percent of Birmingham residents travel 15-29 minutes during their daily commute.

Meanwhile, another report from the Census Transportation Planning Package notes that most Birmingham commuters are heading to Troy (10.7 percent), Bloomfield Hills (4.4 percent) and Farmington and Farmington Hills (4.1 percent).

How long is your commute? Do you live in the Birmingham area so that you can be closer to work or do you still have a long drive?