See what the average commute is in Clay County, IL

American commutes are getting longer, with a U.S. Census Bureau report released in 2021 revealing the average one-way commute in 2019 reached a record high of 27.6 minutes. Combined with high gas prices, workers' daily commutes are increasingly time-consuming and expensive—so much so that some are calling for commutes to count as part of the workday.

Even worse are travel times for "super commuters"—that unlucky 10% of Americans traveling more than one hour each way to punch a clock.

Stacker compiled statistics about the average commute in Clay County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Clay County has a longer commute than five out of six neighboring counties, with Effingham County, IL having the shortest commute at 17.5 minutes.

Clay County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 24.2 minutes
--- 16.8% lower than state average
--- #51 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 9.9%
- Workers who drive to work: 90.5%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 4.6%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.9%
- Workers who work from home: 5.6%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 20.3%
- Worked outside county of residence: 27.3%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Effingham County, IL: 17.5 minutes
#2. Marion County, IL: 19.4 minutes
#3. Richland County, IL: 20.7 minutes
#4. Fayette County, IL: 21.9 minutes
#5. Wayne County, IL: 23.4 minutes
#6. Clay County, IL: 24.2 minutes
#7. Jasper County, IL: 29.1 minutes

Counties with the best commute in Illinois
#1. Crawford County: 16.1 minutes
#2. McDonough County: 16.8 minutes
#3. Brown County: 16.9 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in Illinois
#1. Calhoun County: 42.6 minutes
#2. Kendall County: 33.7 minutes
#3. Cook County: 33.2 minutes