Counties with the most super commuters in Washington
Counties with the most super commuters in Washington
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 Washington 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. Benton County
--- #2,356 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 52.7% less common than state average
--- 47.1% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.8 minutes
--- #1,985 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 22.1% shorter than state average
--- 21.0% shorter than national average

#29. Spokane County
--- #2,343 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 52.4% less common than state average
--- 46.7% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 22 minutes
--- #1,941 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 21.4% shorter than state average
--- 20.3% shorter than national average
#28. Okanogan County
--- #2,187 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 48.6% less common than state average
--- 42.5% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 18.4 minutes
--- #2,586 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 34.3% shorter than state average
--- 33.3% shorter than national average

#27. Chelan County
--- #2,086 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 45.7% less common than state average
--- 39.2% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 19.2 minutes
--- #2,458 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.4% shorter than state average
--- 30.4% shorter than national average

#26. San Juan County
--- #1,947 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 42.0% less common than state average
--- 35.1% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 16.3 minutes
--- #2,860 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 41.8% shorter than state average
--- 40.9% shorter than national average
#25. Douglas County
--- #1,816 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 38.5% less common than state average
--- 31.2% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 19.2 minutes
--- #2,458 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.4% shorter than state average
--- 30.4% shorter than national average

#24. King County
--- #1,515 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 28.4% less common than state average
--- 19.9% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.9 minutes
--- #454 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.8% longer than state average
--- 8.3% longer than national average
#23. Skamania County
--- #1,456 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 26.3% less common than state average
--- 17.5% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.9 minutes
--- #454 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.8% longer than state average
--- 8.3% longer than national average
#22. Columbia County
--- #1,408 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 24.7% less common than state average
--- 15.7% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 19.2 minutes
--- #2,458 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.4% shorter than state average
--- 30.4% shorter than national average

#21. Whatcom County
--- #1,187 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 16.1% less common than state average
--- 6.1% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 22 minutes
--- #1,941 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 21.4% shorter than state average
--- 20.3% shorter than national average
#20. Klickitat County
--- #1,166 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 15.2% less common than state average
--- 5.1% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.9 minutes
--- #1,962 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 21.8% shorter than state average
--- 20.7% shorter than national average
#19. Clark County
--- #1,104 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 12.6% less common than state average
--- 2.2% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.3 minutes
--- #815 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 2.5% shorter than state average
--- 1.1% shorter than national average
#18. Pacific County
--- #998 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 7.0% less common than state average
--- 4.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.6 minutes
--- #2,015 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 22.9% shorter than state average
--- 21.7% shorter than national average
#17. Cowlitz County
--- #782 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 6.6% more common than state average
--- 19.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.7 minutes
--- #1,109 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 8.2% shorter than state average
--- 6.9% shorter than national average
#16. Stevens County
--- #750 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 8.9% more common than state average
--- 21.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.3 minutes
--- #522 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.6% longer than state average
--- 6.2% longer than national average

#15. Skagit County
--- #728 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 10.5% more common than state average
--- 23.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26 minutes
--- #1,044 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 7.1% shorter than state average
--- 5.8% shorter than national average
#14. Clallam County
--- #717 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 11.4% more common than state average
--- 24.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.1 minutes
--- #1,921 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 21.1% shorter than state average
--- 19.9% shorter than national average

#13. Thurston County
--- #701 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 12.5% more common than state average
--- 26.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.8 minutes
--- #903 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.3% shorter than state average
--- 2.9% shorter than national average
#12. Lincoln County
--- #641 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 18.5% more common than state average
--- 32.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.1 minutes
--- #1,472 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 13.9% shorter than state average
--- 12.7% shorter than national average
#11. Kittitas County
--- #574 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 24.8% more common than state average
--- 39.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 20.8 minutes
--- #2,170 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 25.7% shorter than state average
--- 24.6% shorter than national average
#10. Snohomish County
--- #559 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 26.3% more common than state average
--- 41.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.6 minutes
--- #220 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 16.4% longer than state average
--- 18.1% longer than national average
#9. Pend Oreille County
--- #548 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 27.2% more common than state average
--- 42.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.1 minutes
--- #257 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.6% longer than state average
--- 16.3% longer than national average
#8. Grays Harbor County
--- #366 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 53.5% more common than state average
--- 71.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.1 minutes
--- #846 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.2% shorter than state average
--- 1.8% shorter than national average
#7. Mason County
--- #318 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 61.7% more common than state average
--- 81.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 33.1 minutes
--- #188 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 18.2% longer than state average
--- 19.9% longer than national average
#6. Lewis County
--- #312 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 62.4% more common than state average
--- 81.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.5 minutes
--- #631 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.8% longer than state average
--- 3.3% longer than national average
#5. Jefferson County
--- #238 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 79.4% more common than state average
--- 100.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.5 minutes
--- #1,363 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 12.5% shorter than state average
--- 11.2% shorter than national average
#4. Pierce County
--- #224 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 82.5% more common than state average
--- 104.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.8 minutes
--- #208 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 17.1% longer than state average
--- 18.8% longer than national average
#3. Island County
--- #131 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 115.8% more common than state average
--- 141.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.4 minutes
--- #642 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.4% longer than state average
--- 2.9% longer than national average
#2. Kitsap County
--- #115 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 122.3% more common than state average
--- 148.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.6 minutes
--- #386 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 9.3% longer than state average
--- 10.9% longer than national average
#1. Wahkiakum County
--- #47 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 197.9% more common than state average
--- 233.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 37.2 minutes
--- #55 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 32.9% longer than state average
--- 34.8% longer than national average