Burke, West Springfield Residents' Commutes Among the Longest

It takes West Springfield and Burke residents longer to get to work than more than 93 percent of residents in similar-sized communities in America, according to a new study.

A study, done by On Numbers, a Bizjournals.com blog, compiled data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 American Community Survey. It awarded points for every commuter who takes less than 30 minutes to get from home to his or her job, and it took away points for every commuter above that threshold.

Among 3,012 cities, villages, incorporated towns and census-designated places with populations between 10,000 and 50,000, West Springfield ranked 2,822. That gives West Springfield residents a worse commute, on average, than 93.7 percent of people who live in small communities.

Burke ranked 475 among medium-sized areas with populations of 50,000 – 100,000 out of 483 ranked. Burke residents, then, have a worse commute than 98.3 percent of residents in similar-sized communities.

In West Springfield, 32.8 percent of residents have a commute of 45 minutes or more—more than double the national average. Nationally, just 15.5 percent of workers commute 45 minutes or more.

In Burke, 31.3 percent of residents have a commute of 45 minutes or more.

The best commute in America for small communities was in Altus, Okla., where it takes 80.5 percent of working residents 14 minutes or less to drive to work from home. Very few people in Altus have long commutes: 1.5 percent of the workforce there commutes more than 45 minutes every morning.

The best commute for medium-sized communities was Grand Forks, N.D. There, just 2.4 percent of workers commute for 45 minutes or more.

You can see the full rankings at On Numbers.

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