NYC is full of perpetual busy bees, never seeming to stop and smell the roses. Though with all work and no play comes a stressed out worker–especially when your day begins and ends with long commutes.
In a new survey conducted by LLC.org, data shows that New York City takes the title for having the longest commute in the U.S., clocking in at 79.6 minutes roundtrip.
This news isn’t particularly surprising to us, however, as NYC holds the title as the worst U.S. city for driving. According to a study by Circuit, NYC has a 35% congestion level, meaning that, on average, it can take 35% longer to get somewhere during periods of high traffic congestion in New York.
Pair that congestion level with having to travel home during rush hour and, well, you know what the stress of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic can do to you.
NYC even beats out three Californian cities: Palmdale, in which the commute takes 71.8 minutes, Moreno Valley, where a commute takes 68.2 minutes, and Santa Clarita, who has a commute of 66.4 minutes. Jersey City, NJ comes right before Santa Clarita, with a commute of 68 minutes.
To determine these numbers, LLC.org set out to analyze which cities are the most stressful ones in the U.S. for workers. They looked at 170+ census-defined places with a population of 150,000 or more and compared these cities across eight variables:
- average hours worked/week
- average commute time
- % of workers commuting before 7 a.m.
- % of workers who unable to work remotely
- single-income families
- income growth rate
- % of employees without health insurance
- each city’s crime rate
When taking into consideration stress levels of these commuters, they looked at general work stress, which was affected by average commute time, financial stress, and health and safety.
Though NYC workers have the longest commutes, we’re thankfully not the most stressful city to work in overall–that title went to Houston, Texas. In fact, we didn’t even make it into the top 30.
At the end of the day, time should always be put aside for self care because we all deserve a stress-free life, and we know a thing or two about getting in that much-needed r&r. We love ourselves a good spa day, and yoga is also one of our fav ways to relieve stress and find inner balance.