See what the average commute is in Polk County, NE

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 longer commute than all of its five neighboring counties, with Platte County, NE having the shortest commute at 13.6 minutes.

Polk County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 21.2 minutes
--- 12.0% higher than state average
--- #20 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 4.0%
- Workers who drive to work: 86.2%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 9.2%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.4%
- Workers who work from home: 8.3%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 18.0%
- Worked outside county of residence: 50.8%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Platte County, NE: 13.6 minutes
#2. York County, NE: 16.1 minutes
#3. Hamilton County, NE: 18.9 minutes
#4. Merrick County, NE: 19.1 minutes
#5. Seward County, NE: 20.7 minutes
#6. Polk County, NE: 21.2 minutes

Counties with the best commute in Nebraska
#1. Box Butte County: 9.9 minutes
#2. Brown County: 10.8 minutes
#3. Chase County: 12.0 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in Nebraska
#1. Loup County: 31.3 minutes
#2. Cass County: 28.5 minutes
#3. Howard County: 27.4 minutes