Survey Says: Huntley Among Worst For Commuting Times

Huntley’s motto is: “The friendly village with country charm.”

But that country status might have something to do with a recent survey ranking the village among the worst for commute times for small-town communities throughout the country.

An On Numbers survey showed 62.8 percent of Huntley workers travel more than 30 minutes to their job sites. Of those, a sizeable 43.3 percent commute 45 minutes or longer, according to the survey published in The Business Journals.

The national average of workers commuting more than 45 minutes to work is only 15.5 percent.

The On Numbers study contained statistics from  the U.S. Census Bureau 2009 American Community Survey.

Huntley ranked among the worst for commute times for communities with a population between 10,000 and 50,000. The village ranked 2,972 among the 3,012 communities across the nation surveyed and fourth to last among Illinois communities surveyed. 

The community with the best commute time was Altkus, Okla., with 80.5 percent of its residents dealing with less than a 15-minute commute each day, according to the Business Journals article.

In Illinois, residents living in Macomb, located southwest of Peoria, have the best commute times with 78.91 percent of its residents spending less than 14 minutes traveling to work. 

In Huntley, only 14.8 percent of residents enjoy a drive-time to the workplace of less than 14 minutes. Another 22 percent spend between 15 to 29 minutes in their car ride to work, according to the survey.

Nearby suburbs did not fare much better for commute times.

• Lake in the Hills had a rank of 2,980 with 42.69 percent traveling more than 45 minutes during their commute and 22.24 percent facing a 30 to 44 minute drive each day to work. 
• Algonquin had a rank of 2,887 . According to the survey, 17.36 percent of Algonquin commuters spent 14 minutes or less traveling to their jobs each day, 25.20 percent had a commute time of 15 to 29 minutes, 21.26 percent spent between 30 to 44 minutes commuting and 36.19 percent spent more than 45 minutes on their commute.
• Cary had a rank of 2,806 . According to the survey, commute times for Cary residents were less than 14 minutes for 21.71 percent, between 15 to 29 minutes for 22.62 percent, between 30 to 44 minutes for 25.15 percent and more than 45 minutes for 30.52 percent. 

Tell us by commenting below: How long is your commute?