Kodiak Named Best Commute in the West

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT

A recent article on The Business Journals online pointed out something Kodiak residents have known for years: traffic and commuting aren’t very big problems on Alaska’s emerald isle. Scott Thomas from On Numbers used data from the 2011 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to find the places in the West with the shortest and longest commutes. The list features 172 communities and ranks them with number one being the shortest commute time. Kodiak came out on top with the average home to workplace drive only 10 minutes. Thomas said about 73.5 percent Kodiak’s workers live less than 15 minutes from their jobs. Nationwide that distance is only true for 28.3 percent of the population.

At the bottom of the list, California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles had an average of 28 minute long commutes. The place with the longest home to work drive was listed as Shelton, Washington, where 27 percent of the community must commute for 45 minutes or longer and the average time is 30 minutes. Anchorage was the highest ranked Alaska city at 96^th with an average commute time of 21 minutes. Ketchikan followed Kodiak’s ranking at 3rd with an average 13 minute commute and Juneau was 9^th with 15 minutes.

A recent article on The Business Journals online pointed out something Kodiak residents have known for years: traffic and commuting aren’t very big problems on Alaska’s emerald isle. Scott Thomas from On Numbers used data from the 2011 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to find the places in the West with the shortest and longest commutes. The list features 172 communities and ranks them with number one being the shortest commute time. Kodiak came out on top with the average home to workplace drive only 10 minutes. Thomas said about 73.5 percent Kodiak’s workers live less than 15 minutes from their jobs. Nationwide that distance is only true for 28.3 percent of the population.

At the bottom of the list, California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles had an average of 28 minute long commutes. The place with the longest home to work drive was listed as Shelton, Washington, where 27 percent of the community must commute for 45 minutes or longer and the average time is 30 minutes. Anchorage was the highest ranked Alaska city at 96^th with an average commute time of 21 minutes. Ketchikan followed Kodiak’s ranking at 3rd with an average 13 minute commute and Juneau was 9^th with 15 minutes.