See what the average commute is in Polk County, TX

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 all of its five neighboring counties, with San Jacinto County, TX having the longest commute at 40.5 minutes.

Polk County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 29.1 minutes
--- 9.1% higher than state average
--- #53 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 16.4%
- Workers who drive to work: 91.3%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 9.1%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.4%
- Workers who work from home: 3.6%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 17.4%
- Worked outside county of residence: 28.2%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Polk County, TX: 29.1 minutes
#2. Hardin County, TX: 29.3 minutes
#3. Tyler County, TX: 31.8 minutes
#4. Trinity County, TX: 33.4 minutes
#5. Liberty County, TX: 39.3 minutes
#6. San Jacinto County, TX: 40.5 minutes

Counties with the best commute in Texas
#1. Kinney County: 8.4 minutes
#2. Baylor County: 12.3 minutes
#3. Stonewall County: 12.7 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in Texas
#1. San Jacinto County: 40.5 minutes
#2. Bandera County: 39.7 minutes
#3. Terrell County: 39.6 minutes