5 charts show who has the best and worst commutes in New York City

• Commuting, and how long it takes, is a huge aspect of daily working life in New York City.
• Mayor Zohran Mamdani has focused on making buses faster; longer commutes can be a drag for workers.
• We looked at how New Yorkers commute, and who commutes the longest.

How long different workers spend commuting

Higher-paid workers tend to have easier, although not necessarily shorter, commutes.

“If you have more flexibility in your job, then you can have a more pleasant commute with a seat on a train, compared to if you need to work a job where you’re required to be there for a specific shift that kind of coincides with rush hour traffic,” Melodia said.

Commutes are quite consistent across income bands. Workers in middle-income roles face longer commutes than their lower-paid counterparts. Some workers in more WFH-friendly knowledge industries may choose to trade a longer commute for fewer days in the office, said Randall Reback, an economics professor at Barnard College: if you move out to Long Island, you may spend more time commuting, but go in less often.

A slew of occupations have their own commute advantages. Tutors, who likely often work from home or Zoom into class with their pupils, had the shortest commutes. They were followed closely by clergy, who often live at or near their parishes.

Father Chris Lawton, a priest with the Paulist Fathers at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, lives around the corner from his office at the Paulist Fathers’ Motherhouse. He finds his stroll-next-door commute convenient and reflective of his ministry, as the priesthood is more encompassing than just a job.

“Sometimes it’s a little too close, and sometimes I long for a little more distance just to kind of create a separation in my head and heart of work and home,” Fr. Lawton said. His boss has a rule: Out of the office once a day, out of the neighborhood once a week, and out of the city once a month.

Transit is still top of mind for many clergy and parishioners. Last fall, Lawton hosted a commuting-focused community talk called “mass transit.”

“What we talked about was how stressful commutes can be, and how stressful our daily routines can be,” Lawton said, “And where do we find God amidst that?” Attendees left with tools like prayer rituals and stress-reducing breathing techniques, as well as an appreciation for who they’re commuting with.

“In New York City, even whether someone has a short or long commute, there’s so much richness,” Lawton said. “A real blessing of living in the city is that no matter who you are, unless you’re taking private cars everywhere, we have the unique privilege of being in proximity to all kinds of people regularly.”