How long is the commute in Chicago?

Average travel time to work in Chicago, IL, how people get to work — driving, transit, walking or from home — and how that compares nationally.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

This story was assembled using AI and public data sources.

How Chicago gets to work.

Average commute, one way: 27.4 min — U.S. average: 23.0 min

How workers get to work

• Drove alone: 46
• Carpooled: 7.4
• Transit: 19.3
• Walked: 5.7
• From home: 18.3

Average commute (minutes)

• Chicago: 27.4
• Cook County: 26.6
• IL: 24.2
• U.S.: 23

Work from home: 18.3% — U.S.: 13.5%

What it means

The typical one-way commute here runs about 4.4 minutes longer than the national average.

Working from home went from 4.4% of workers in 2015 to 18.3% in the latest estimates.