Residents of some of our nation’s biggest cities will spend more than 11,000 hours of their lives just getting to and from the office.
On Monday, Citi released its Commuter Survey, which revealed that Americans spend nearly 200 hours a year (roughly 45 minutes a day) — and $2,600 (about $10 a day) a year — just to commute to and from work. That means over the course of your working life, you’ll spend an average of nearly 8,000 hours — and far more if you live in some big cities — and more than six figures just getting to and from your job.
That hefty price tag for our commutes has gotten worse in recent years: Roughly two-thirds of Americans say the cost of their commute has increased in the past five years, the Citi ThankYou Premier survey — which included a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults, as well as 500 respondents from each of these cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami — revealed.
Plus, rides into work are getting longer (which may explain, in part, why we’re spending more on them): A study released this year by the Brookings Institute reveals that the number of jobs within a typical commute distance for those living in major cities fell by 7%. And of the nation’s 96 largest metro areas, in only 29 (mostly in the South and West) did the number of jobs within a typical commuting distance increase.
In some cities, the commute is worse than others. The prize for the lengthiest commute goes to residents of the Big Apple, who could spend an average of 12,640 hours commuting to work over their careers, assuming average commute times stay the same. And residents of Los Angeles currently spend more than $3,600 a year just getting to and from work.
Commuting is a nightmare in these five cities
| City | Average daily round-trip commute time (in minutes) | Average yearly round-trip commute time (in hours) | Average yearly amount spent on round-trip commute |
| New York | 73 | 316 | $3,120 |
| Chicago | 64 | 277 | $2,340 |
| San Francisco | 56 | 243 | $2,340 |
| Los Angeles | 55 | 238 | $3,640 |
| Miami | 49 | 212 | $2,860 |
| National Average | 45 | 195 | $2,600 |
| Source: Citi Commuter Survey | |||
In addition to dealing with delays and train traffic, those who use public transportation also have to deal with fellow commuters — and they don’t like it: More than nine in 10 have done something to escape an annoying fellow passenger.
5 annoying passengers on public transit
| Annoying behavior | % of commuters who hate this behavior most | ||
| The Germ Spreader: A person who is sick or doing something gross | 46% | ||
| The Talker: A person who chats your ear off | 18% | ||
| The ‘Don’t Touch Me’: A person who gets angry if you bump him | 14% | ||
| The Rock Star: A person whose music can be heard by everyone | 13% | ||
| The Eater: A person who eats something messy or smelly | 9% | ||
| Source: Citi Commuter Survey | |||
Not everyone considers their commute to be a nightmare. More than two-thirds of Americans say their commute is often the only “me time” they get all day. And others use it as a time to call family or friends (27%), read a book or magazine (13%) and listen to music (85%).
Source: MarketWatch