As it turned out, the 10 best ZIPs for commuters were a bit of a surprise. Those travel-friendly spots were:
1. 99559, Bethel, AK
2. 08608, Trenton, NJ
3. 81433, Silverton, CO
4. 99762, Nome, AK
5. 97820, Canyon City, OR
6. 96853, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI
7. 32542, Eglin AFB, FL
8. 32544, Hulburt Field, FL
9. 99829, Hoonah, AK
10. 30537, Dillard, GA
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For now, let’s take a closer look at our top 10 and see why they deserve to be where they are.
1. 99559, Bethel, AK: Where Hailing A Taxi Is No Problem
Alaska may not seem like a great place for commuting with all that ice, but Bethel knows what they’re doing as far as travel. We will note that there are more taxi drivers per capita here than anywhere else in America, a number that may have something to do with the over seven percent of locals who frequently were able to use public transportation for their commute.
The big numbers here were the over 21 percent of folks who carpooled to work, the 22 percent who actually walked to work, and the just over one percent of folks who biked to work. You can probably guess why biking wasn’t so popular here. Brrr!
The most important factor though was the very low average commute time. Even with all those walkers and public transport takers, locals of this ZIP code still only spent eight minutes on average going to and from work.
2. 08608, Trenton, NJ: These Roads Are Made For Walking
Now, no one really thinks of New Jersey as a commute-friendly state. There’s the often confusing roads, plenty of traffic jams, and the whole place is all hustle and bustle, right? Well, not in this little Trenton ZIP.
We will admit, the average commute time of 18 minutes was the biggest in our top 10, but the other stats here were pretty impressive.
Over a quarter of the 921 locals here walked to work, and 1.5 percent rode their bikes. On top of that, an impressive 15 percent used public transportation, and a whopping 36 percent carpooled.
All in all, that means that only about 32 percent of locals were braving traffic on their own while driving to work.
3. 81433, Silverton, CO: Better For Bikers Than For Skiers
We’re sure that Shaun White would disagree, considering he trained for the Olympics here, but this spot really is a cycling paradise. The 11 minute commute time is populated in large part by cyclists, making up over 19 percent of workers in transit.
More than that, this Colorado locale is great for walking, seeing as over 34 percent of people walked to work rather than opting for any form of wheels. To wrap it all up, just over two percent of locals used public transportation and just under 20 percent carpooled.
All this means that just about 25 percent of locals actually drove by themselves to work, and even then it didn’t take very long at all.
4. 99762, Nome, AK: Maybe They Travel By Dogsled?
It should be noted that Nome really isn’t connected by road to any other major Alaskan cities. This means that if you want to work, you’re going to be working local, or else you’ll have to find ways other than cars to get around.
That being said, the workers in Nome are still pretty great commuters. Almost a quarter of them walk to work, over three percent ride their bikes, and nearly 20 percent carpool with other locals. A very small portion also use public transportation, but walking (or maybe dogsled?) seems to be the way to go here.
When all is said and done, people who lived in this Alaskan ZIP only spent seven minutes in transit.
5. 97820, Canyon City, OR: Small City, Small Commute
Locals here were lucky enough to enjoy small commute times in general, averaging about 16 minutes, no matter the means of transportation. That may not seem very small, but compared to many others in our over 30,000 ZIP code list, that’s pretty great.
More than that, people here tended to either walk or carpool to work, saving the environment and likely a little time as well. Not too surprising for Oregon folks.
Of course, some people did use public transportation, almost five percent in fact. In the end, about half of the population here found some other way to get to work rather than riding alone in traffic.
6. 96853, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI: A Salute To Island Living
Now, just about everyone knows Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor. Historically, it’s significant to the U.S., but the air force and naval bases in that area are still in active use today. Of course, all those military personnel need to live somewhere, and living near where your work is always a huge plus, especially in the commute department.
That may be just a little speculation on why the commutes here are so decent, but the numbers speak for themselves. Locals had a low commute time of merely 15 minutes on average, and over a quarter of locals could easily walk to work (perhaps at a double-time march.)
As for those who didn’t walk, 20 percent carpooled, almost six percent used public transit, and about one percent rode their bikes.
7. 32542, Eglin AFB, FL: Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads
Pearl Harbor didn’t have the only military commute-friendly ZIP on our list. This Florida area ranked very well, with a commute time of only 14 minutes on average, and with a strong eight percent of workers using public transportation.
The most common mode of transportation to and from work here was the over 22 percent who carpooled, showing workers cared about the environment as well as their fellow employees.
Many fewer people here walked to work, at only about seven percent, but then again this is an air force base, so maybe people are taking to the skies a little more often to get to or from their daily jobs. Hey, it’s possible.
8. 32544, Hulburt Field, FL: Just A Quick March To Work
This area is just for military personnel, but they and their families still have commutes to deal with, and considering there’s over 1,700 of them in this ZIP that’s still bound to equal some traffic. However, the roads aren’t too congested, seeing as the average commute times were merely 10 minutes.
More specifically, over 16 percent of locals walked to work, and over 22 percent carpooled. Right behind that, four percent of people who live here used some form of public transportation to get to work.
We will mention that most people didn’t bike anywhere here, with less than one percent choosing that form of transportation. Then again, who wouldn’t opt for a plane over a bike, right?
9. 99829, Hoonah, AK: Trade In That Bus For A Boat
Alaska made a very strong showing on this list, though this is a bit of a unique location. A Tlingit island community, this area is only accessible by boat or plane, but that doesn’t keep locals from getting around. For one thing, over a quarter of locals were able to walk to and from work each day.
For those who’d rather not walk, over 18 percent of locals carpooled, and almost two percent used public transportation (yes, including boats.) On top of that, a surprising 3.5 percent of folks biked to their jobs, making this one of the more bike friendly places in our top 10.
At the end of the day, the average commute time here was just seven short minutes.
10. 30537, Dillard, GA: Community And Commute
Mostly known for the Dillard House restaurant and motel, this small city really is a great community. It is so community oriented, in fact, that over a quarter of the population frequently carpools to and from work each day.
More than that, this Georgia ZIP had decent walkability, with over 10 percent of locals hoofing it to their jobs rather than driving. And for alternative means of transportation? This place had over four percent picking two wheels rather than four and cycling for their commute.
While the commute times themselves were a little longer at 18 minutes on average, this place still fared worlds better than most other ZIPs in the country.
Los Angeles Locals Are Probably Super Jealous
As we know, there are many areas that have truly terrible traffic (*cough* Los Angeles *cough*) but there are always some spots that just know what daily transit is all about. As for these top 10, locals should breathe easy, knowing they have it better than most of the nation when it comes to getting to work.
Is your commute bringing you down? Well, we can’t exactly clear the roads for you, but we can help you find a place where the commute is a little easier. We sell houses, after all, and there are a few commute-friendly places that we’re sure are calling your name right about now.
How We Created This Ranking
In order to get this Big Deal List, we took to the Internet, rather than to the road, to get some hard data. In particular, we went to the U.S. Census Five Year American Community Survey (2008-2012) to get data in the following criteria:
- percent of workers who carpooled to work
- percent of workers who used public transportations to work
- percent of workers who biked to work
- percent of workers who walked to work
- Average commute time in minutes
We were able to get data in these categories for 30,640 different ZIP codes, and we left out all others that had partial or no data.
From there, we ranked each place in each category from one to 30,640, with larger numbers being better for commuters. We averaged each place’s rankings together into one overall Big Deal Score.
The ZIP with the largest number for that Big Deal Score became our best place for commuters, namely Bethel, Alaska.
