by Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com
If you're looking for work in a new town, you're considering salary versus cost of living. But are you missing any other key factors?
For example, most folks know that the bright lights and big city excitement of living in an urban hot spot, like Washington, D.C. or L.A., means paying more for housing, food, and a night out on the town. Higher salaries in these areas are meant to make up the difference.
You also likely know that different jobs pay better in certain locations, like a well-paid software developer in San Jose, California, versus a lower-paid one in Chicago.
But sometimes higher salaries in certain towns don't quite pay off when you factor in one more thing: commute time.
Time Is Money
"Most people don't consider commuting fun. It's part of work time," says Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale.com, a salary information site based in Seattle. PayScale recently conducted a study of median commute times across the United States and figured out which city's commutes can take the biggest cut out of your earnings.
Lee and his team based their calculations on "how much you are really making an hour, when you account for the hours you spend commuting, not just the eight hours a day you spend on the job."
What did they find? Depending on the city, average round-trip commute times vary from one-half to three hours a day -- making the true workday at least a full hour longer in some spots. This means that a person may take a full 10% pay cut per hour just because of the commute. Ouch!
Not Only a Big-City Issue
Which places are the worst? Big cities, you may suppose, but that's not always the case. PayScale found that certain suburban getaways whip up nasty commutes times since many have congested roadways or lack efficient public transportation.
For example, Lee explains, "Everyone expects a job on Wall Street means an hour commute each way, since only a Rockefeller could afford to live nearby. What is surprising is that typical workers in suburban locations, like Waltham, Massachusetts, and Falls Church, Virginia, actually have commutes nearly as long as workers in urban cores like Manhattan, Boston, and Chicago."
So, which cities really are the most and least expensive to commute to? Take a look below to see what a person earning $60,000 a year, or $28.85 per hour*, is really earning when their typical commute time is factored in:
Most Expensive Commutes
(City/Effective Hourly Wage/Effective Pay Cut per Hour)
1. Manhattan, NY - $24.66 - 14.5%
2. Jersey City, NJ - $24.92 - 13.6%
3. Waltham, MA - $25.05 - 13.2%
4. Chicago, IL - $25.05 - 13.2%
5. Bethesda, MD - $25.07 - 13.1%
6. Washington, DC - $25.07 - 13.1%
7. Falls Church, VA - $25.11 - 13%
8. Cambridge, MA - $25.12 - 13%
9. Boston, MA - $25.15 - 12.8%
10. McLean, VA - $25.19 - 12.7%
Least Expensive Commutes
(City/Effective Hourly Wage/Effective Pay Cut per Hour)
1. Amarillo, TX - $27.05 - 6.2%
2. Fargo, ND - $27.04 - 6.3%
3. Lubbock, TX - $27.01 - 6.4%
4. Eugene, OR - $26.99 - 6.4%
5. Sioux Falls, SD - $26.90 - 6.8%
6. Midland, TX - $26.88 - 6.8%
7. Lincoln, NE - $26.87 - 6.9%
8. Cedar Rapids, IA - $26.86 - 6.9%
9. Santa Cruz, CA - $26.85 - 6.9%
10. Binghamton, NY - $26.84 - 7%
* 2080 hours/year = 8 hours/day x 5 days/week x 52 weeks/year (assuming vacation is paid)
If you're looking for work in a new town, you're considering salary versus cost of living. But are you missing any other key factors?
For example, most folks know that the bright lights and big city excitement of living in an urban hot spot, like Washington, D.C. or L.A., means paying more for housing, food, and a night out on the town. Higher salaries in these areas are meant to make up the difference.
You also likely know that different jobs pay better in certain locations, like a well-paid software developer in San Jose, California, versus a lower-paid one in Chicago.
But sometimes higher salaries in certain towns don't quite pay off when you factor in one more thing: commute time.
Time Is Money
"Most people don't consider commuting fun. It's part of work time," says Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale.com, a salary information site based in Seattle. PayScale recently conducted a study of median commute times across the United States and figured out which city's commutes can take the biggest cut out of your earnings.
Lee and his team based their calculations on "how much you are really making an hour, when you account for the hours you spend commuting, not just the eight hours a day you spend on the job."
What did they find? Depending on the city, average round-trip commute times vary from one-half to three hours a day -- making the true workday at least a full hour longer in some spots. This means that a person may take a full 10% pay cut per hour just because of the commute. Ouch!
Not Only a Big-City Issue
Which places are the worst? Big cities, you may suppose, but that's not always the case. PayScale found that certain suburban getaways whip up nasty commutes times since many have congested roadways or lack efficient public transportation.
For example, Lee explains, "Everyone expects a job on Wall Street means an hour commute each way, since only a Rockefeller could afford to live nearby. What is surprising is that typical workers in suburban locations, like Waltham, Massachusetts, and Falls Church, Virginia, actually have commutes nearly as long as workers in urban cores like Manhattan, Boston, and Chicago."
So, which cities really are the most and least expensive to commute to? Take a look below to see what a person earning $60,000 a year, or $28.85 per hour*, is really earning when their typical commute time is factored in:
Most Expensive Commutes
(City/Effective Hourly Wage/Effective Pay Cut per Hour)
1. Manhattan, NY - $24.66 - 14.5%
2. Jersey City, NJ - $24.92 - 13.6%
3. Waltham, MA - $25.05 - 13.2%
4. Chicago, IL - $25.05 - 13.2%
5. Bethesda, MD - $25.07 - 13.1%
6. Washington, DC - $25.07 - 13.1%
7. Falls Church, VA - $25.11 - 13%
8. Cambridge, MA - $25.12 - 13%
9. Boston, MA - $25.15 - 12.8%
10. McLean, VA - $25.19 - 12.7%
Least Expensive Commutes
(City/Effective Hourly Wage/Effective Pay Cut per Hour)
1. Amarillo, TX - $27.05 - 6.2%
2. Fargo, ND - $27.04 - 6.3%
3. Lubbock, TX - $27.01 - 6.4%
4. Eugene, OR - $26.99 - 6.4%
5. Sioux Falls, SD - $26.90 - 6.8%
6. Midland, TX - $26.88 - 6.8%
7. Lincoln, NE - $26.87 - 6.9%
8. Cedar Rapids, IA - $26.86 - 6.9%
9. Santa Cruz, CA - $26.85 - 6.9%
10. Binghamton, NY - $26.84 - 7%
* 2080 hours/year = 8 hours/day x 5 days/week x 52 weeks/year (assuming vacation is paid)
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