How Far Do You Commute, Dearborn?
Recently released U.S. Census figures show that the average commute for a Dearborn resident is below the national average.
With a few exceptions here and there, there aren't too many of us who enjoy the daily commute to and from work. But how long is that commute for Wayne County residents and where are we going?
According to data released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau, the average one-way, daily commute for U.S. workers is 25.4 minutes.
But Dearborn residents enjoy a shorter drive overall, averaging from 21 to 22.8-minute commutes, according to an interactive map published at Slate.com.
The census report notes that one in four commuters are leaving their county for work. Plus, nearly 600,000 workers across the country have a "megacommute" of at least 50 miles, spending at least 90 minutes on the road.
In Michigan, Oakland and Wayne counties are trading residents for workers at almost the exact same rate, according to the Census report. While 104,700 Wayne County residents commute to Oakland County each day for work, 103,186 people make the opposite trip.
Another report from the Census Transportation Planning Package shows some interesting details about where Dearborn residents work, and how long it takes them to get there.
Among the findings from this and the Census report:
- Residents in the 48124 ZIP code have the longest commute, clocking in at 22.8 minutes on average.
- Residents in the 48126 ZIP code have the shortest average commute of 21 minutes.
- Residents of 48126 are also most likely to work very close to home—25.8 percent of them don't leave their area code to get to work.
- More residents in the 48120 ZIP code commute to 48126 than stay in their own area.
- The three largest employers in Dearborn are Ford Motor Company, Oakwood Healthcare and Severstal North America—with their headquarters sitting in the 48126, 48124 and 48120 ZIP codes, respectively.
Patch editor Joni Hubred-Golden contributed to this report.
AXXEL KNUTSON
9:02 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
I commute 630 miles each way.