See what the average commute is in Benton County, IA

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 Benton County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Benton County has a longer commute than all of its seven neighboring counties, with Black Hawk County, IA having the shortest commute at 16.6 minutes.

Benton County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 24.9 minutes
--- 27.8% higher than state average
--- #9 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 3.9%
- Workers who drive to work: 90.1%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 7.5%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.3%
- Workers who work from home: 6.5%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 17.0%
- Worked outside county of residence: 57.7%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Black Hawk County, IA: 16.6 minutes
#2. Poweshiek County, IA: 18.8 minutes
#3. Linn County, IA: 19.0 minutes
#4. Johnson County, IA: 19.4 minutes
#5. Tama County, IA: 22.0 minutes
#6. Buchanan County, IA: 22.7 minutes
#7. Iowa County, IA: 23.8 minutes
#8. Benton County, IA: 24.9 minutes

Counties with the best commute in Iowa
#1. Sioux County: 13.4 minutes
#2. Buena Vista County: 13.8 minutes
#3. Carroll County: 13.9 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in Iowa
#1. Guthrie County: 28.2 minutes
#2. Harrison County: 27.9 minutes
#3. Madison County: 27.2 minutes