See what the average commute is in Putnam 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 Putnam County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Putnam County has a shorter commute than both of its neighboring counties, with Marshall County, IL having the longest commute at 27.8 minutes.

Putnam County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 24.7 minutes
--- 15.0% lower than state average
--- #44 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 8.4%
- Workers who drive to work: 91.4%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 4.5%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.0%
- Workers who work from home: 5.9%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 18.3%
- Worked outside county of residence: 59.8%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Putnam County, IL: 24.7 minutes
#2. LaSalle County, IL: 24.8 minutes
#3. Marshall County, IL: 27.8 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