Counties with the most super commuters in Illinois
There are more than 281 million vehicles on the road in the United States, and many of those cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles are used to ferry people to and from their homes and jobs during their daily commutes. A small but growing number of people are walking and biking to work, particularly in compact college towns. Many more take public transportation, especially in major cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, and Seattle—but nationwide, public transit accounts for only about 5% of daily commutes.
The overwhelming majority of people still drive to and from work every day, and the vast majority of those car commuters drive alone—fewer than 10% of Americans carpool. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average one-way commute in the United States has grown to a record 27.1 minutes. That’s just shy of an hour a day that average Americans squander behind the wheel, not at home with their families, and instead, burning gas and putting miles on their cars.
For some Americans, however, the commute to work is far from average. A phenomenon known as super commuting has emerged and grown in recent years. Super commuters spend 90 minutes or more—each way—chasing their paychecks every day. The biggest percentage of super commuters work in the extraction industry, with workers pursuing lucrative jobs in remote mines, oil fields, and other energy operations. Many more, however, have been priced out of expensive housing in urban metro areas where high-paying jobs are located, far away from their less-expensive county of residence.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most super commuters in Illinois using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by highest percent of workers with a commute over 90 minutes, based on 2019 5-year estimates. Keep reading to see where in your state people are spending the most time going to and from work every day.
#30. DuPage County
--- #1,086 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 3.5% less common than state average
--- 0.8% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.8 minutes
--- #464 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 2.1% longer than state average
--- 8.0% longer than national average
#29. Iroquois County
--- #1,077 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 3.2% less common than state average
--- 0.4% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.8 minutes
--- #1,539 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 18.5% shorter than state average
--- 13.8% shorter than national average
#28. Franklin County
--- #1,065 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 2.6% less common than state average
--- 0.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.5 minutes
--- #1,146 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 12.7% shorter than state average
--- 7.6% shorter than national average
#27. Putnam County
--- #1,014 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 0.5% more common than state average
--- 3.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.2 minutes
--- #1,205 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 13.7% shorter than state average
--- 8.7% shorter than national average
#26. DeKalb County
--- #992 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 1.5% more common than state average
--- 4.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26 minutes
--- #1,044 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 11.0% shorter than state average
--- 5.8% shorter than national average
#25. Pike County
--- #990 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 1.6% more common than state average
--- 4.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.3 minutes
--- #992 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 9.9% shorter than state average
--- 4.7% shorter than national average
#24. Scott County
--- #982 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 2.5% more common than state average
--- 5.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.9 minutes
--- #724 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.5% shorter than state average
--- 1.1% longer than national average
#23. Livingston County
--- #976 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 3.2% more common than state average
--- 6.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.5 minutes
--- #2,035 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 26.4% shorter than state average
--- 22.1% shorter than national average
#22. Hancock County
--- #893 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 9.0% more common than state average
--- 12.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25 minutes
--- #1,241 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.4% shorter than state average
--- 9.4% shorter than national average
#21. Cook County
--- #886 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 9.7% more common than state average
--- 12.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33.4 minutes
--- #171 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.4% longer than state average
--- 21.0% longer than national average
#20. Stephenson County
--- #883 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 9.8% more common than state average
--- 12.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.1 minutes
--- #1,921 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 24.3% shorter than state average
--- 19.9% shorter than national average
#19. Greene County
--- #866 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 10.6% more common than state average
--- 13.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29 minutes
--- #567 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.7% shorter than state average
--- 5.1% longer than national average
#18. Kane County
--- #846 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 11.6% more common than state average
--- 14.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.1 minutes
--- #548 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.3% shorter than state average
--- 5.4% longer than national average
#17. Gallatin County
--- #806 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 14.3% more common than state average
--- 17.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.2 minutes
--- #829 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.8% shorter than state average
--- 1.4% shorter than national average
#16. Ogle County
--- #738 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 19.6% more common than state average
--- 23.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.9 minutes
--- #1,062 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 11.3% shorter than state average
--- 6.2% shorter than national average
#15. Clay County
--- #732 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 20.2% more common than state average
--- 23.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22 minutes
--- #1,941 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 24.7% shorter than state average
--- 20.3% shorter than national average
#14. Grundy County
--- #726 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 20.4% more common than state average
--- 23.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.2 minutes
--- #536 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.0% shorter than state average
--- 5.8% longer than national average
#13. Lake County
--- #722 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 20.8% more common than state average
--- 24.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.4 minutes
--- #406 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.1% longer than state average
--- 10.1% longer than national average
#12. Carroll County
--- #664 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 26.9% more common than state average
--- 30.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.7 minutes
--- #1,315 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 15.4% shorter than state average
--- 10.5% shorter than national average
#11. Boone County
--- #581 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 35.2% more common than state average
--- 39.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.7 minutes
--- #606 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.7% shorter than state average
--- 4.0% longer than national average
#10. Clark County
--- #571 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 36.5% more common than state average
--- 40.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.4 minutes
--- #1,624 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 19.9% shorter than state average
--- 15.2% shorter than national average
#9. Kankakee County
--- #570 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 36.7% more common than state average
--- 40.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.6 minutes
--- #1,335 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 15.8% shorter than state average
--- 10.9% shorter than national average
#8. Pope County
--- #510 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 42.9% more common than state average
--- 46.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 36.5 minutes
--- #66 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 25.0% longer than state average
--- 32.2% longer than national average
#7. Hamilton County
--- #441 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 54.3% more common than state average
--- 58.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.1 minutes
--- #1,031 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 10.6% shorter than state average
--- 5.4% shorter than national average
#6. Will County
--- #409 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 59.3% more common than state average
--- 63.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33 minutes
--- #195 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 13.0% longer than state average
--- 19.6% longer than national average
#5. McHenry County
--- #383 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 63.7% more common than state average
--- 68.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33.2 minutes
--- #183 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 13.7% longer than state average
--- 20.3% longer than national average
#4. Alexander County
--- #290 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 81.1% more common than state average
--- 86.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.3 minutes
--- #418 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.8% longer than state average
--- 9.8% longer than national average
#3. Kendall County
--- #245 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 92.8% more common than state average
--- 98.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 34.4 minutes
--- #122 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 17.8% longer than state average
--- 24.6% longer than national average
#2. Hardin County
--- #231 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 96.6% more common than state average
--- 102.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.7 minutes
--- #606 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.7% shorter than state average
--- 4.0% longer than national average
#1. Calhoun County
--- #75 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 184.1% more common than state average
--- 192.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 40.5 minutes
--- #18 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 38.7% longer than state average
--- 46.7% longer than national average