Counties with the most super commuters in Texas
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 Texas 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. Starr County
--- #179 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 171.0% more common than state average
--- 118.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27 minutes
--- #868 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.5% longer than state average
--- 2.2% shorter than national average
#29. Llano County
--- #175 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 171.8% more common than state average
--- 118.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31 minutes
--- #344 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 16.5% longer than state average
--- 12.3% longer than national average
#28. Liberty County
--- #173 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 174.7% more common than state average
--- 121.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 37 minutes
--- #58 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 39.1% longer than state average
--- 34.1% longer than national average
#27. Fannin County
--- #169 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 177.5% more common than state average
--- 123.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31.7 minutes
--- #282 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 19.2% longer than state average
--- 14.9% longer than national average
#26. Yoakum County
--- #168 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 177.9% more common than state average
--- 123.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 21 minutes
--- #2,131 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 21.1% shorter than state average
--- 23.9% shorter than national average
#25. Zapata County
--- #165 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 179.0% more common than state average
--- 124.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.4 minutes
--- #2,055 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 19.5% shorter than state average
--- 22.5% shorter than national average
#24. DeWitt County
--- #149 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 188.2% more common than state average
--- 132.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.7 minutes
--- #1,109 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.4% shorter than state average
--- 6.9% shorter than national average
#23. Reagan County
--- #141 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 194.0% more common than state average
--- 136.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 18.2 minutes
--- #2,626 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.6% shorter than state average
--- 34.1% shorter than national average
#22. Sherman County
--- #129 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 201.4% more common than state average
--- 142.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.7 minutes
--- #1,785 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.7% shorter than state average
--- 17.8% shorter than national average
#21. Kimble County
--- #126 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 204.5% more common than state average
--- 145.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.5 minutes
--- #1,146 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.1% shorter than state average
--- 7.6% shorter than national average
#20. Tyler County
--- #125 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 205.0% more common than state average
--- 145.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31.9 minutes
--- #269 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 19.9% longer than state average
--- 15.6% longer than national average
#19. Henderson County
--- #114 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 209.9% more common than state average
--- 149.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.1 minutes
--- #257 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 20.7% longer than state average
--- 16.3% longer than national average
#18. Jack County
--- #113 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 210.8% more common than state average
--- 150.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.8 minutes
--- #362 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 15.8% longer than state average
--- 11.6% longer than national average
#17. Delta County
--- #104 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 219.4% more common than state average
--- 157.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33.1 minutes
--- #188 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 24.4% longer than state average
--- 19.9% longer than national average
#16. Jim Wells County
--- #102 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 220.8% more common than state average
--- 158.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.4 minutes
--- #642 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.8% longer than state average
--- 2.9% longer than national average
#15. Lavaca County
--- #94 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 230.7% more common than state average
--- 166.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.5 minutes
--- #631 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 7.1% longer than state average
--- 3.3% longer than national average
#14. Schleicher County
--- #89 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 236.9% more common than state average
--- 171.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.8 minutes
--- #903 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.8% longer than state average
--- 2.9% shorter than national average
#13. Bandera County
--- #84 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 245.9% more common than state average
--- 178.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 37.6 minutes
--- #50 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 41.4% longer than state average
--- 36.2% longer than national average
#12. Sabine County
--- #82 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 248.7% more common than state average
--- 180.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.2 minutes
--- #675 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.0% longer than state average
--- 2.2% longer than national average
#11. Van Zandt County
--- #79 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 256.3% more common than state average
--- 186.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 35.8 minutes
--- #79 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 34.6% longer than state average
--- 29.7% longer than national average
#10. Polk County
--- #42 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 323.6% more common than state average
--- 241.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32 minutes
--- #263 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 20.3% longer than state average
--- 15.9% longer than national average
#9. Jim Hogg County
--- #37 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 336.8% more common than state average
--- 251.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.5 minutes
--- #396 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.7% longer than state average
--- 10.5% longer than national average
#8. Newton County
--- #34 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 344.1% more common than state average
--- 257.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 38.7 minutes
--- #33 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 45.5% longer than state average
--- 40.2% longer than national average
#7. Rains County
--- #30 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 355.4% more common than state average
--- 266.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 35.7 minutes
--- #81 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 34.2% longer than state average
--- 29.3% longer than national average
#6. Trinity County
--- #29 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 358.8% more common than state average
--- 269.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 36.5 minutes
--- #66 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 37.2% longer than state average
--- 32.2% longer than national average
#5. Crockett County
--- #27 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 367.6% more common than state average
--- 276.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29 minutes
--- #567 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 9.0% longer than state average
--- 5.1% longer than national average
#4. La Salle County
--- #25 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 395.5% more common than state average
--- 299.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.1 minutes
--- #846 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.9% longer than state average
--- 1.8% shorter than national average
#3. Terrell County
--- #17 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 444.4% more common than state average
--- 338.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.5 minutes
--- #1,146 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.1% shorter than state average
--- 7.6% shorter than national average
#2. San Jacinto County
--- #14 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 450.3% more common than state average
--- 343.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 42.9 minutes
--- #9 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 61.3% longer than state average
--- 55.4% longer than national average
#1. Menard County
--- #5 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 555.2% more common than state average
--- 427.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.4 minutes
--- #507 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 10.5% longer than state average
--- 6.5% longer than national average