Columbus ranked as No. 6 best city in U.S. for commuters, according to study

Columbus is one of the best cities in the U.S. for commuting — No. 6, in fact.

That's according to a new study from Clever Real Estate, which says Columbus residents spend less of their annual income on fuel, maintenance and insurance premiums than the average U.S. worker.

Columbus residents who commute for work also spend less time in traffic compared to their counterparts, according to the study, which examined data from the nation's 50 most populous metros.

Cleveland and Cincinnati also finished high on Clever Real Estate's list of 'Best Cities for Commuters,' placing fifth and ninth, respectively.

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What are the best cities for commuters?

Among the nation's 50 most populous metros, the real estate service says Buffalo, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee and Virginia Beach are the best cities for commuters — in that order.

The worst, according to Clever Real Estate, are Detroit, Atlanta, New York City, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Washington, D.C. and Dallas.

Breaking down the numbers

Columbus residents spend about $6,602, or 16% of their income, on commuting each year, according to Clever Real Estate.

For comparison, Detroit residents spend nearly $13,000 each year on commuting, in part due to the high cost of car insurance in Michigan, the study says. The average Detroit resident spends $6,280 each year on car insurance, according to Clever Real Estate.

Columbus residents spend less of their annual income on fuel, maintenance and insurance premiums than the average U.S. worker, a study has found.
Columbus residents spend less of their annual income on fuel, maintenance and insurance premiums than the average U.S. worker, a study has found.

The average driver in Columbus, on the other hand, spends $1,170 on insurance premiums per year, Clever Real Estate says.

Columbus residents, according to the study, also spend just 13 hours in traffic per year, compared to 32 in the average metro.

Average U.S. commuter spends 19% of their annual income on commuting, per study

Overall, the average U.S. commuter spends $8,466, or about 19% of their annual income traveling to and from work each year, according to the real estate service.

Clever Real Estate says it produced its rankings of best and worst cities for commuters using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Census, the American Automobile Association, the Brookings Institute, INRIX, GasBuddy and The Zebra.

Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@MonroeTrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Study ranks Columbus sixth best city for commuters across US