Is Your City Home To The Most Stressed-Out Commuters In The U.S.?

Getting from the proverbial Point A to Point B seems to get more challenging with each passing year. It’s pure drudgery to start the day behind the wheel of your car not going anywhere fast. While public transportation is an alternative for some, a whopping 85.3 percent of those employed – 153 million in all – get to and from work by car.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, average travel times have increased 7.6 percent from 2006-2017. The University of the West of England studied the situation and concluded that extended commute times take their toll in terms of added stress, decreased job satisfaction, and less leisure-time satisfaction. A survey conducted by Robert Half found that nearly one-quarter of all workers – and a third of those aged 18-34 – quit a job because it involved a horrible commute.

That information comes courtesy of the website SleepHelp.org, which conducted research to determine which cities endure the most- and least-stressful daily commutes. They found that, overall, big cites on the East and West Coasts tend to suffer the most taxing travel in the U.S. That’s based in large part on extended traffic delays, heavily congested highways and/or frequent precipitation. The cities that are home to the least nerve-wracked commuters tend to be situated in the Southwest, where the roads are less clogged and the climate is drier. That’s why cities in Arizona comprise fully half of the 10 least-stressed burgs in America.

Sleep Help ranked 200 major U.S. cities in this regard, based on an aggregate of factors. These include the average one-way travel time, average annual days with precipitation, the relative likelihood of getting into a collision, and both the percentage of workers who drive to work and the diversity of when they hit the road.

Perhaps surprisingly, only one of the worst-faring cities has a population greater than 1 million. Among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, Philadelphia is ranked at number 41 on the list, followed by Seattle at 42, Boston at 48, Chicago at 56, Los Angeles at 78, New York City at 82, and San Francisco way down at number 136.

Here are the 10 cities Sleep Help determined have the most stressed-out commuters, with full stats noted for each category:

10. Tacoma, WA

• Population: 213,426
• Average one-way commute time: 30.6 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 149 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 33.8% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 84.0%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

9. San Jose, CA

• Population: 1,035,353
• Average one-way commute time: 31.3 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 108 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 44.8% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 87.3%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

8. Baltimore, MD

• Population: 611,648
• Average one-way commute time: 31.6 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 116 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 151.7% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 67.3%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

7. Glendale, CA

• Population: 203,066
• Average one-way commute time: 27.9 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 43 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 99.4% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 85.3%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Worse than average

6. Pembroke Pines, FL

• Population: 170,703
• Average one-way commute time: 31.8 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 122 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 16.2% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 94.9%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

5. Bellevue, WA

• Population: 144,459
• Average one-way commute time: 23.8 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 157 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 27.3% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 75.0%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

4. Fremont, CA

• Population: 234,954
• Average one-way commute time: 34.9 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 65 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 40.9% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 83.0%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Worse than average

3. Paterson, NJ

• Population: 148,678
• Average one-way commute time: 24.3 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 123 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 33.8% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 84.7%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Worse than average

2. Miramar, FL

• Population: 140,323
• Average one-way commute time: 31.0 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 145 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 18.8% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 83.9%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Average

1. Detroit, MI

• Population: 673,103
• Average one-way commute time: 25.4 minutes
• Average annual days with precipitation: 135 days
• Relative collision likelihood: 22.9% above average
• Percentage of workers who drive: 83.0%
• Diversity of times that people leave for work: Worse than average

For the record, the 10 U.S. cities where motorists tend to be more on the mellow side are: Mesa, Scottsdale, Tucson, Chandler, and Gilbert, AZ; Brownsville and McAllen, TX; Overland Park, KS; Reno, NV; and Fort Collins, CO.

You can read Sleep Help’s full report, including the aforementioned rankings of 200 major U.S. cities so you can see where your area stacks up in terms of commuter stress levels, here. 

The fine print: All commuting statistics noted above come from the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. Weather data is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information. The number of rainy days corresponds to the mean number of days with precipitation of 0.01 inches or more. Accident rates are from the Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report 2019.