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Bay Area Cities Outrank L.A. On List Of Longest Commutes In U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- This probably won't come as a surprise, but Bay Area drivers endure some of the worst commutes in the country. According to a new study, they have the longest commutes in the state. Three Bay Area cities made the list of the top 20 longest commutes in America. Surprisingly, two of them ranked higher than Los Angeles, the city with a reputation for being a virtual parking lot during rush hour.

Wallet Hub used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and ranked more than 100 U.S. cities according to minutes residents spent traveling to work. Business Insider went a step further, using the data to examine how they get there -- whether by car, public transportation or on foot.

San Francisco has the longest commutes in California, according to the study. The City by the Bay earned the number six spot, with an average commute time of 31 minutes. Most commuters drive to work alone.

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Across the bay, Fremont was ranked number 7. Commuters there spend an average of 30.5 minutes commuting to work. Like San Francisco, most of them get to work by car, behind the wheel alone. Oakland was ranked at 12, with an average commute time of 29.2 minutes and again, most folks drive to work alone.

Most people in California would have believed Los Angeles residents suffered the longest commutes, but that city ranked at number 10 with average commute times of 29.6 minutes.

New York City residents have the longest commute in the country according to the study, with a commute time of 39.4 minutes. Unlike the Bay Area though, most commuters in the Big Apple use public transportation to get to work.


CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.

 

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