The Center Square –
Tennessee residents spend an average of 25 minutes commuting to work, the 22nd-longest commute among the states Coverage.com studied in an analysis using pre-coronavirus data.
About 6.4% of commuters in the state have one-way travel times exceeding one hour, according to the analysis. The city in Tennessee with the shortest average commute time was Gatlinburg, according to the website, which aims to educate consumers by offering impartial insurance information.
Coverage.com relied on 2018 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to rank states and the District of Columbia. The key commute data for Wyoming was not available.
Initial studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Americans’ commuting habits, with public transit use decreasing, bikes and e-bikes gaining popularity and overall travel time decreasing as more people work from home, the researchers found.
Increased commuting times can be associated with more stress as well as an acceleration of climate change, according to Coverage.com.
Average One-Way Commute Times by State:
| Rank (Longest to Shortest) | State | Average 1-way Commute Time to Work (Minutes) | Workers With Commutes Over 1 Hour | City With Shortest Average Commute |
| 1 | New York | 33.3 | 17.9% | St. Bonaventure |
| 2 | Maryland | 32.9 | 15.6% | Andrews |
| 3 | New Jersey | 31.7 | 15.8% | Fort Dix |
| 4 | Washington, D.C. | 30.3 | 8.8% | — |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 29.7 | 12.8% | Nantucket |
| 6 | California | 29.3 | 12.2% | Fort Irwin |
| 7 | Illinois | 29.0 | 11.8% | Macomb |
| 8 | Georgia | 28.4 | 10.8% | Cusseta |
| 9 | Virginia | 28.4 | 10.4% | Blacksburg |
| 10 | Washington | 27.6 | 9.9% | North Fort Lewis |
| 11 | Hawaii | 27.4 | 10.1% | Mahinahina |
| 12 | Florida | 27.4 | 8.1% | Key West |
| 13 | New Hampshire | 27.3 | 10.0% | Lincoln |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 26.9 | 9.2% | Lincoln University |
| 15 | Texas | 26.4 | 8.3% | Laughlin |
| 16 | Connecticut | 26.3 | 9.1% | Storrs |
| 17 | West Virginia | 25.8 | 9.1% | Buckhannon |
| 18 | Delaware | 25.8 | 8.0% | Newark, Wilmington |
| 19 | Louisiana | 25.5 | 8.0% | Fort Polk South |
| 20 | Colorado | 25.5 | 7.1% | Springfield |
| 21 | Arizona | 25.3 | 6.6% | Parker |
| 22 | Tennessee | 25.0 | 6.4% | Gatlinburg |
| 23 | Rhode Island | 24.8 | 6.9% | Providence |
| 24 | Alabama | 24.7 | 6.2% | Livingston |
| 25 | Mississippi | 24.6 | 6.8% | Columbus |
| 26 | South Carolina | 24.6 | 6.0% | Beaufort |
| 27 | Michigan | 24.5 | 6.3% | Marquette |
| 28 | North Carolina | 24.5 | 6.1% | Boone |
| 29 | Nevada | 24.3 | 5.2% | Ely |
| 30 | Maine | 24.0 | 6.4% | Presque Isle |
| 31 | Oregon | 23.7 | 6.4% | Baker |
| 32 | Indiana | 23.6 | 5.8% | Upland |
| 33 | Missouri | 23.6 | 5.2% | Fort Leonard Wood |
| 34 | Minnesota | 23.5 | 5.5% | International Falls |
| 35 | Ohio | 23.5 | 5.0% | Wright-Patterson |
| 36 | Kentucky | 23.3 | 5.7% | Fort Campbell |
| 37 | Vermont | 22.9 | 5.6% | North Bennington |
| 38 | New Mexico | 22.1 | 5.4% | Cannon |
| 39 | Wisconsin | 22.0 | 4.7% | Ashland |
| 40 | Arkansas | 21.7 | 5.1% | Magnolia |
| 41 | Utah | 21.7 | 4.7% | Kanab |
| 42 | Oklahoma | 21.7 | 4.6% | Alva |
| 43 | Idaho | 20.7 | 4.6% | Mountain Home |
| 44 | Kansas | 19.3 | 3.3% | Beloit |
| 45 | Iowa | 19.1 | 3.4% | Algona |
| 46 | Alaska | 18.8 | 4.8% | Akutan |
| 47 | Nebraska | 18.6 | 3.0% | Ainsworth |
| 48 | Montana | 18.0 | 4.0% | West Yellowstone |
| 49 | North Dakota | 17.1 | 4.3% | Grand Forks |
| 50 | South Dakota | 17.0 | 3.0% | Platte |
