See what the average commute is in Cook 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 Cook County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Cook County has a longer commute than all of its eight neighboring counties, with Berrien County, MI having the shortest commute at 20.2 minutes.

Cook County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 33.2 minutes
--- 14.2% higher than state average
--- #3 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 14.6%
- Workers who drive to work: 67.7%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 7.8%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 17.8%
- Workers who work from home: 7.8%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 13.0%
- Worked outside county of residence: 11.3%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Berrien County, MI: 20.2 minutes
#2. Porter County, IN: 28.3 minutes
#3. Lake County, IN: 29.0 minutes
#4. Kane County, IL: 29.2 minutes
#5. DuPage County, IL: 29.4 minutes
#6. Lake County, IL: 30.4 minutes
#7. McHenry County, IL: 32.0 minutes
#8. Will County, IL: 33.0 minutes
#9. Cook County, IL: 33.2 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