Why This is Important
Travel time to work is an economic, environmental and quality of life metric. Economically, this reflects whether workers in a specific area are obligated to travel farther for work and that there are fewer work opportunities near their homes. Environmentally, it indicates whether a specific area contributes more vehicle miles traveled and thereby more polluting auto emissions. Finally, many commuters find longer daily trips burdensome, costly and stressful, leading to a negative impact on quality of life.
About the Data
This data includes all those commuting to the workplace, whether in personal vehicles, bicycles, walking or by public transit. As of 2010, the Durham County mean commuting time was 21.7 minutes.
As with all measurements from the American Community Survey in the Neighborhood Compass, this data represents 5 years' worth of surveying. With each annual update, the 5-year period advances by dropping one year and incorporating the next. For this reason, annual releases of this measurement are not suitable for true time series comparison until no overlap exists among the survey periods.
Source: American Community Survey (ACS)
Additional Resources
| Resource | Learn More and Take Action |
|---|---|
| On the Map Commuting Analysis | Examine local and national commuting patterns based on where people live and work as well as by industry. Data is drawn from the Longitudinal Employer-Housing Dynamics (LEHD) program. |
| Durham City/County Comprehensive Plan | Comprehensive plans are intended to guide growth and development in an organized, efficient, and sustainable manner. To do so, they look to the future to anticipate trends and issues that could impact how growth and development occur. |
| American Community Survey (ACS) | The source of information about and data from the American Community Survey (ACS). |
Select a base geography (depending on the dataset, different geographies may be available).
Data Distribution, 2021
Long Commute Times
