Travel Time to Work

The Travel Time to Work indicator measures the average amount of time, in minutes, it takes for an individual to commute to work. Long commute times are often associated with an increase incidence in absence from work and decreased leisure time. Long commute times are also associated with health-related behaviors such as lack of physical activity, unhealthy diets, and sleep deprivation; and health outcomes such obesity, asthma, stress, exhaustion, low self-rated health, and physical ailments. Long commutes also contributes to traffic congestion and air pollution. Urban design and planning can affect commuting patterns, by promoting efficient traffic networks and public transportation to mitigate the negative effects of long commute times. Though featured under the Employment Opportunities domain, the Travel Time to Work indicator is also linked to the Transportation Services, Housing, Employment Opportunities, Economic Health, Health Systems and Public Safety, Social Cohesion, and Neighborhood Characteristics domains. The Travel Time to Work indicator is considered an “inverse” measure, i.e., the higher the commute time, the more negative the impact is on the neighborhood. The Travel Time to Work indicator data is available from the U.S. Census.

Neighborhood Indicator Value Ranksort descending
Central City 15.5 1
Highland Park 15.8 2
Five Points South 17 3
Evergreen 17.5 4
Redmont Park 17.9 5
East Birmingham 18.3 6
Crestwood North 18.4 7
Kingston 18.5 8
Enon Ridge 18.5 8
Pine Knoll Vista 19.2 10
Brummitt Heights 19.2 10
Forest Park 19.8 12
Fairmont 20 13
Harriman Park 20 13
Fountain Heights 20.1 15
Crestline 20.3 16
South Titusville 20.3 16
Wahouma 20.5 18
Glen Iris 20.6 19
Eastwood 20.6 19
Crestwood South 20.7 21
Bush Hills 20.7 21
Oakwood Place 20.9 23
North Avondale 20.9 23
Oak Ridge Park 21 25
Druid Hills 21.1 26
Woodlawn 21.2 27
North Birmingham 21.2 27
North East Lake 21.2 27
College Hills 21.2 27
South Woodlawn 21.3 31
East Thomas 21.5 32
Graymont 21.7 33
Southside 22 34
Powderly 22.5 35
West End Manor 22.7 36
Sandusky 23.7 37
Fairview 23.9 38
Industrial Center 23.9 38
Oxmoor 23.9 38
Ensley 23.9 38
Germania Park 24 42
East Lake 24 42
Arlington - West End 24.2 44
Norwood 24.3 45
West Goldwire 24.3 45
Woodland Park 24.3 45
Acipco-Finley 24.3 45
Riley 24.3 45
Garden Highlands 24.4 50
Inglenook 24.7 51
Overton 24.7 51
East Avondale 24.7 51
Jones Valley 24.9 54
West Brownville 24.9 54
Huffman 25.3 56
Tarpley City 25.3 56
North Titusville 25.3 56
Gate City 25.4 59
South East Lake 25.7 60
Penfield Park 25.7 60
Maple Grove 25.7 60
Hooper City 25.9 63
Liberty Highlands 25.9 63
Brown Springs 25.9 63
Wylam 26.1 66
Roebuck 26.1 66
Smithfield Estates 26.2 68
Killough Springs 26.2 68
Thomas 26.2 68
Tuxedo 26.2 68
Central Pratt 26.3 72
Bridlewood 26.6 73
Roosevelt 26.6 73
Belview Heights 26.7 75
North Pratt 26.7 75
Hillman Park 26.8 77
Zion City 26.8 77
Collegeville 27 79
Roebuck Springs 27.1 80
Rising - West Princeton 27.2 81
Spring Lake 27.6 82
East Brownville 27.6 82
Sherman Heights 27.7 84
Green Acres 28 85
Ensley Highlands 28 85
Oak Ridge 28.2 87
Dolomite 28.2 87
Sun Valley 28.9 89
Smithfield 29 90
Apple Valley 29.2 91
Central Park 29.2 91
Echo Highlands 29.5 93
Brownsville Heights 30.7 94
Airport Highlands 30.8 95
South Pratt 31.6 96
Hillman 34.8 97
Mason City 36.4 98
Grasselli Heights 46.1 99

Key Citations:
1. American Community Survey (ACS), 2011. U.S. Census Bureau.
2. An, Jane, et al. “Issue Brief #9 Exploring the Social Determinants of Health; Work, Workplaces and Health” (2011). Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
3. Cervero, Robert and Michael Duncan. “Which Reduces Vehicle Travel More: Jobs-Housing Balance or Retail-Housing Mixing?” (2008). Journal of the American Planning Association.
4. Christian, Thomas J. “Trade-offs Between Commuting Time and Health-Related Activities” (2012). Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine.
5. McConnell, Rob, et al. “Asthma and School Commuting Time” (2010). Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
6. National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), 2009. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.
7. Redmond, Lothlorien S. and Patricia L. Mokhtarian. “The positive utility of the commute: modeling ideal commute time and relative desired commute amount” (2001) Transportation, Kluwer Academic Publishers.