According to a new MoneyGeek research, Lakeland-Winter Haven region residents had the third worst commute in the whole United States, trailing only six other Florida areas that reached the top 20.
The typical one-way commute in the Lakeland-Winter Haven area is 31 minutes, with an average speed of 27 mph during peak hour. In comparison, the study found that residents in other parts of the country spend an average of 35 minutes traveling one way, driving at an average speed of 31 mph.
The Lakeland-Winter Haven area had a final grade of 32.6, placing it behind California cities such as Stockton, Riverside, and San Bernardino.
The Port St. Lucie area earned the sixth-worst final rating at 39.5, followed by the Daytona Beach area at 40.2, Cape Coral-Fort Myers was ninth worst at 41.2, and the Orlando, Miami, and Tampa areas were 13th, 14th, and 15th worst, respectively.
MoneyGeek determines its final grade by weighing the following factors:
- Average one-way commute (minutes): 37.5%
- Average rush hour speed (mph): 12.5%
- Morning commute crash rate: 25%
- Annual gas cost: 25%
Eric Dumbaugh is a professor at Florida Atlantic University with expertise in transportation, planning, and design. He said for most of us, when we think of commutes, what we care about is the amount of time we spend getting where we need to go.
“By that measure, neither one of those areas is particularly bad,” said Dumbaugh.
“The average commute in the United States is about 28 minutes each way. Tampa’s a little less than that, the average commute is 26.7 minutes. Lakeland is a little more at 31.”
He said where these rankings make our areas look bad is by accounting for things like traffic crashes.
“That increases delay. That slows down traffic as you move forward. It costs people their lives,” said Dumbaugh. “That’s where with these rankings, Florida looks particularly bad.”
According to the survey, the average yearly gas cost for Lakeland-Winter Haven region residents is $1,201, which is lower than the cost for inhabitants in areas such as Riverside, California ($1,946) and New York City ($1,616).
However, the Lakeland-Winter Haven area’s low commute ranking is influenced by the morning commute collision rate of 2.2, which ranks second only to Jackson, Mississippi.