Graphic provided by Obrella.com.
On average, Americans spend about 25 minutes commuting to work, so that means almost an hour in the car each day. But the typical drive for residents of the best commuter cities in Texas is just 18 minutes, and for six in 10 workers, the trip takes less than 15 minutes.
It’s interesting to note that, as a whole, the cities listed below boast an impressively high carpooling rate of 14.30 percent. And, in a handful of cities, more than 20 percent of workers share a ride to the office. Nationally, a nominal 10 percent of workers carpool.
Many people aren’t aware of how the length of their commute can impact their life. For example, longer commutes not only affect overall health, they can also result in a higher auto insurance premium, and that’s something everyone wants to avoid. Likewise, workers who have short commutes enjoy many benefits.
We admire these cities and want to spotlight them. To create our list of the 40 best commuter cities in Texas, Obrella referenced the 2013 Census Survey and found cities with more than 10,000 residents. Next, we took a look at the most recent survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau and analyzed the traffic data of those cities.
Click here to see the worst commuter cities in Texas.
How Commute Length Affects Auto Insurance Premiums
When getting an auto insurance quote, you’ll be asked how far you travel to work. That’s because the longer you spend on the road commuting, the greater the chance you’ll be involved in an accident. And, typically, drivers who represent a greater risk to an insurance company pay more for their auto insurance premium.
If your commute increases for some reason, such as a job change or a move, your monthly auto insurance premium could go up by as much as $10. Your Texas auto insurance company can tell you how your commute may impact your insurance premium. Be sure to notify your insurance provider if you shorten or lengthen your commute.
How Commute Length Affects Quality of Life
Here are just a few ways the length of your daily commute can have an impact on your life.
- A Gallup Poll reveals that commuters who are on the road more than 90 minutes are at a higher risk for chronic back or neck problems.
- The University of California, Los Angeles and California State University, Long Beach, conducted a study that revealed the distance a commuter drives each day to work had a stronger correlation with obesity that any other factor analyzed.
- Social geographer Erika Sandow discovered that when one partner in a marriage commutes longer than 45 minutes a day, there is a 40 percent greater chance the marriage will end in divorce.
- A report by Political Scientist Robert Putnam states a person’s number of social connections is tied to the amount of time they spend commuting. He found that for every 10 minutes a worker spends commuting, their social connections are decreased by 10 percent.
- Commuters with longer commutes experience increased feelings of anxiety, are more likely to feel tired, and experience less enjoyment.
- A report from Thomas James Christian of Brown University states that every minute a person spends commuting decrease the time they spend engaged in healthy activities, like resting, exercising, and preparing meals.
If you haven’t thought about how a long commute could be having a negative impact on your well-being and on your auto insurance rate, now is the time to do so. From carpooling to using mass transit, or even working a few days from home, you might be able to shorten your commute and increase your quality of life.
#5 – Nacogdoches
Noted as “the oldest town in Texas,” Nacogdoches is a great place to settle if you want to open a business and enjoy a short commute. In fact, its downtown district offers residents a variety of business boosting incentives and six in 10 workers get to their job in less than 15 minutes. Six highways intersect with the highway that surrounds Nacogdoches, making the drive easy for those who head out of town for work.
