Counties with the most super commuters in Kentucky
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 Kentucky 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. Adair County
--- #509 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 108.0% more common than state average
--- 47.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.4 minutes
--- #974 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 11.9% longer than state average
--- 4.3% shorter than national average
#29. Hart County
--- #497 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 110.2% more common than state average
--- 48.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.1 minutes
--- #548 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 23.3% longer than state average
--- 5.4% longer than national average
#28. Grayson County
--- #483 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 113.1% more common than state average
--- 50.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.1 minutes
--- #846 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.8% longer than state average
--- 1.8% shorter than national average
#27. Rowan County
--- #447 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 121.8% more common than state average
--- 56.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.3 minutes
--- #1,877 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 5.5% shorter than state average
--- 19.2% shorter than national average
#26. Bath County
--- #427 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 127.8% more common than state average
--- 61.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.8 minutes
--- #464 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 26.3% longer than state average
--- 8.0% longer than national average
#25. Mason County
--- #419 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 129.1% more common than state average
--- 62.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.9 minutes
--- #1,518 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.3% longer than state average
--- 13.4% shorter than national average
#24. Owen County
--- #385 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 137.5% more common than state average
--- 67.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.5 minutes
--- #228 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 37.7% longer than state average
--- 17.8% longer than national average
#23. Powell County
--- #381 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 138.5% more common than state average
--- 68.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31.1 minutes
--- #334 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.8% longer than state average
--- 12.7% longer than national average
#22. Martin County
--- #330 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 153.1% more common than state average
--- 79.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 34.3 minutes
--- #127 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 45.3% longer than state average
--- 24.3% longer than national average
#21. Johnson County
--- #315 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 156.1% more common than state average
--- 81.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.2 minutes
--- #427 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 28.0% longer than state average
--- 9.4% longer than national average
#20. Carter County
--- #305 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 159.3% more common than state average
--- 83.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31 minutes
--- #344 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.4% longer than state average
--- 12.3% longer than national average
#19. Crittenden County
--- #265 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 172.7% more common than state average
--- 92.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.9 minutes
--- #886 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.0% longer than state average
--- 2.5% shorter than national average
#18. Fleming County
--- #218 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 191.7% more common than state average
--- 106.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.1 minutes
--- #548 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 23.3% longer than state average
--- 5.4% longer than national average
#17. Jackson County
--- #216 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 192.1% more common than state average
--- 106.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 35 minutes
--- #101 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 48.3% longer than state average
--- 26.8% longer than national average
#16. Breckinridge County
--- #210 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 193.8% more common than state average
--- 107.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.6 minutes
--- #220 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 38.1% longer than state average
--- 18.1% longer than national average
#15. Clay County
--- #199 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 197.0% more common than state average
--- 110.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.4 minutes
--- #233 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 37.3% longer than state average
--- 17.4% longer than national average
#14. Menifee County
--- #191 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 203.5% more common than state average
--- 114.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 35.8 minutes
--- #79 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 51.7% longer than state average
--- 29.7% longer than national average
#13. Casey County
--- #190 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 203.6% more common than state average
--- 114.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.7 minutes
--- #477 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 25.8% longer than state average
--- 7.6% longer than national average
#12. Bracken County
--- #180 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 208.1% more common than state average
--- 117.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 38.4 minutes
--- #37 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 62.7% longer than state average
--- 39.1% longer than national average
#11. Leslie County
--- #154 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 224.6% more common than state average
--- 129.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33.4 minutes
--- #171 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 41.5% longer than state average
--- 21.0% longer than national average
#10. Wolfe County
--- #151 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 226.3% more common than state average
--- 130.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.6 minutes
--- #485 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 25.4% longer than state average
--- 7.2% longer than national average
#9. Knott County
--- #146 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 228.9% more common than state average
--- 132.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31.5 minutes
--- #298 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 33.5% longer than state average
--- 14.1% longer than national average
#8. Breathitt County
--- #85 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 290.4% more common than state average
--- 176.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.7 minutes
--- #371 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 30.1% longer than state average
--- 11.2% longer than national average
#7. Morgan County
--- #54 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 366.9% more common than state average
--- 230.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33.1 minutes
--- #188 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 40.3% longer than state average
--- 19.9% longer than national average
#6. Owsley County
--- #52 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 368.5% more common than state average
--- 231.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.2 minutes
--- #427 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 28.0% longer than state average
--- 9.4% longer than national average
#5. Lewis County
--- #32 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 408.6% more common than state average
--- 259.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 39.7 minutes
--- #26 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 68.2% longer than state average
--- 43.8% longer than national average
#4. Robertson County
--- #20 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 482.8% more common than state average
--- 312.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 42.9 minutes
--- #9 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 81.8% longer than state average
--- 55.4% longer than national average
#3. Magoffin County
--- #12 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 532.7% more common than state average
--- 347.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 37 minutes
--- #58 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 56.8% longer than state average
--- 34.1% longer than national average
#2. Lee County
--- #7 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 613.5% more common than state average
--- 404.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 37.1 minutes
--- #56 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 57.2% longer than state average
--- 34.4% longer than national average
#1. Elliott County
--- #4 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 651.9% more common than state average
--- 431.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 39.9 minutes
--- #22 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 69.1% longer than state average
--- 44.6% longer than national average