Answer: 26 minutes

Questions:

• Why do you think the average length of commute has risen by 20% between 1980 and 2016?
• How important is the commute for you when it comes to looking for a job? Explain.
• Other than time, what are the additional costs of commuting? 
• What do you think is the relationship between commute length and rental cost (for an apartment)? The shorter the commute to work...the ____________ the rent. Explain. 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (WaPo article using U.S. Census Data)

It now takes the average worker 26 minutes to travel to work, according the the U.S. Census Bureau. That's the longest it's been since the Census began tracking this data in 1980. Back then the typical commute was only 21.7 minutes. The average American commute has gotten nearly 20 percent longer since then.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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