How Does Birmingham's Commute Compare?

How has your commute to work been lately? According to The Business Journals, Birmingham residents don't have it too bad.

According to a statistical report of commute times by The Business Journals, Birmingham came in 1,402nd among 3,012 communities nationwide with populations between 10,000 and 50,000.

The study awarded points for all commuters who traveled less than 30 minutes to work, but it subtracted points for those whose commutes were more than 30 minutes, according to the five-year version of the 2009 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The rankings also reflect the ease of travel and the economic self-sufficiency in a given community. The highest scores go to places that have wide ranges of easily reached workplaces. Commutes are defined by how long its takes one to travel to work.

In Birmingham, the largest percentage of commuters — 40.4 percent — travels 15-29 minutes during their daily commute. Another 29.2 percent travel less than 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, 20.6 percent travel 30-44 minutes during their commute, while 9.7 percent make the longest journeys to work, more than 45 minutes.

In Michigan, the small city with the best commute turned out to be the Thunder Bay city of Alpena, ranked No. 9 on the national list. Worst in Michigan was New Baltimore, ranked No. 2,773. Twenty-eight percent of New Baltimore residents travel more than 45 minutes during their daily commute.

Top in the nation on The Business Journals' list was Altus, OK. Nearly 80 percent of Altus residents travel less than 15 minutes on their way home from work.