See what the average commute is in Will County

Interstate 80 traffic heading east from Wheeler Avenue in Joliet was tied up at about 1:30 p.m. Friday while westbound lanes were wide open west of the construction zone. Sept. 16, 2022.

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 Will County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Will County has a longer commute than four out of five neighboring counties, with Kankakee County, IL having the shortest commute at 24.5 minutes.

Will County commuting by the numbers

Average commute: 33.0 minutes--- 13.5% higher than state average--- #4 worst commute in the state

Workers with 1+ hour commute: 16.1%

Workers who drive to work: 87.3%

Workers who carpool to work: 6.5%

Workers who take public transport to work: 3.7%

Workers who work from home: 6.9%

Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 18.6%

Worked outside county of residence: 46.6%

Commutes in neighboring counties

#1. Kankakee County, IL: 24.5 minutes

#2. Lake County, IN: 29.0 minutes

#3. Grundy County, IL: 29.1 minutes

#4. DuPage County, IL: 29.4 minutes

#5. Will County, IL: 33.0 minutes

#6. Kendall County, IL: 33.7 minutes

Counties with the best commute in Illinois

#1. Crawford County: 16.1 minutes

#2. McDonough County: 16.8 minutes

#3. Brown County: 16.9 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in Illinois

#1. Calhoun County: 42.6 minutes

#2. Kendall County: 33.7 minutes

#3. Cook County: 33.2 minutes