Look Who’s Snoozing

While trolling through the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) in search of which states have the greatest portion of homebodies, I came across another intriguing data field – “time leaving home to go to work.”  So who’s up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and who’s hitting snooze on the alarm clock just one more time?

Hawaii turns out to be the home for early birds.  More than 20% have left home by 6:00, with almost 45% out the door before 7:00.  Alabama, Arizona, and Mississippi are also filled with early risers, with almost 40% on the road by 7:00.

Commuters in Montana, North and South Dakota, Alaska, and Nebraska are among the latest leavers, but they’re still likely to arrive at work on time, thanks to some of the shortest commutes in the nation.  Over 10 counties in Alaska had mean travel times to work of less than 10 minutes.  (The shortest reported commute to work, by the way, is in King County, TX, at only 3.4 minutes.)

In contrast, 4 counties in New York have the dubious distinction of the longest average commutes, in excess of 40 minutes. BusinessWeek profiled New York “Bus Buddies” in its article on extreme commuters, noting that the number of workers who travel a minimum of an hour-and-a-half to work and back have jumped 95% since 1990.

But despite their long commutes, workers in New York and New Jersey rank in the top 5 for late leavers.  Perhaps those Broadway performers and top chefs can afford a later start to their day.

And the latest risers?  They can be found in D.C., where less than 10% of workers have left home by 6:00, and only 20% by 7:00.  More than half are still at home come 8:00.  Your taxpayer dollars hard at work… And who knows?  Next week they might not be working at all.