Miami's commute times decline

The share of Miami workers with relatively speedy commutes has increased compared to pre-pandemic times, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng report based on a new analysis of census data.

Why it matters: Quicker commutes are tied to better mental health, greater job satisfaction and a host of other personal benefits.

• And in the aggregate, the less time Americans spend in cars, the better for the environment. (Of course, many people commute via public transit.)

By the numbers: 36.5% of Miami workers had a commute of 15–29 minutes in 2022, up from 34.5% in 2019.

• Another 16.6% had a commute of less than 15 minutes, up from 15.9%.
• Only 9.8% of workers had a commute of an hour or longer, down from 11.1%.

The big picture: Nationally, commutes under 30 minutes became more commonplace between 2019 and 2022, while those 30 minutes and longer were rarer.

• 36.8% of U.S. workers had a commute of 15–29 minutes in 2022, up from 35.6% in 2019.
• Another 26% had a commute of less than 15 minutes, up from 24.8%.

Of note: These findings don't include employees who work from home and thus have a commute time of zero — or maybe a minute or two, if you stop to pour a cup of coffee on your way to your home office.

• Instead, the results are based on the approximately 136.2 million Americans ages 16 and older with non-WFH jobs in 2022.

Driving the news: There are a handful of potential factors at play here.

• The "Great Reshuffling" led many Americans to move and/or find new jobs, and some of those who enjoyed the benefits of pandemic-era remote work decided to prioritize shorter commutes in favor of more personal or family time.
• Meanwhile, some degree of remote and hybrid work is persisting post-pandemic, leading to fewer cars on the road and therefore less traffic and faster commutes.

The bottom line: This data may not jive with your personal experience, as construction and other factors can mess with particular routes, but in the broad sense, more Americans are enjoying faster trips to work.