See what the average commute is in Polk County, MN

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 Polk County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Polk County has a shorter commute than five out of seven neighboring counties, with Red Lake County, MN having the longest commute at 23.8 minutes.

Polk County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 18.3 minutes
--- 23.0% lower than state average
--- #20 best commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 4.7%
- Workers who drive to work: 88.5%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 10.0%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.5%
- Workers who work from home: 6.1%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 9.5%
- Worked outside county of residence: 8.0%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Pennington County, MN: 13.4 minutes
#2. Grand Forks County, ND: 14.8 minutes
#3. Polk County, MN: 18.3 minutes
#4. Traill County, ND: 19.5 minutes
#5. Mahnomen County, MN: 19.7 minutes
#6. Marshall County, MN: 23.4 minutes
#7. Norman County, MN: 23.6 minutes
#8. Red Lake County, MN: 23.8 minutes

Counties with the best commute in Minnesota
#1. Stevens County: 11.8 minutes
#2. Pennington County: 13.4 minutes
#3. Cook County: 15.1 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in Minnesota
#1. Isanti County: 34.9 minutes
#2. Chisago County: 32.6 minutes
#3. Sherburne County: 32.4 minutes