The East-West Gateway Map of the Month for February 2024 depicts the percentage of workers over the age of 16 with commute times under 30 minutes. Nationally, an estimated 138 million people commute to work each day. Of that total, 86 million, or 62%, have commutes shorter than 30 minutes. In the East-West Gateway region, this number is 64%. Commuting refers to a worker’s travel from home to work.
The American Community Survey (ACS) asks questions about where people work, how they get there, when they leave home, and how long it takes to commute to work. The Census Bureau uses this data to create statistics about commuting, or a person’s journey to work. Work from home is included as a form of commuting, but it is not included in the calculation for the time it takes to commute to work. According to the Census Bureau, the data collected can be used for employment planning, protection against employment discrimination, defining banking and housing markets, and planning emergency response as well as in transportation planning to understand the current users of various transportation options and forecast future use.
In the St. Louis region, the counties with the highest percentage of commuters with travel time under 30 minutes are the City of St. Louis (71.75%), St. Louis County (68.53%), St. Clair County (65.82%), and St. Charles County (63.15%). Those with the lowest percentage of commuters with travel time under 30 minutes are Madison County (60.31%), Franklin County (55.38%), Monroe County (50.96%), and Jefferson County (46.79%).
For more about commuting and why the ACS asks each question, please refer to the Journey to Work section on the Census Bureau’s website.