Here’s What Return-To-Office Traffic Congestion Will Cost Employees

Many businesses and their workers are finding themselves playing a proverbial tug of war over whether or not to return to a business model in which everyone who gets a paycheck has to physically occupy an office space. Some firms are threatening at-home employees with their jobs if they refuse to return to what was once the status quo. Even President Biden is joining the back-to-headquarters movement, recently asking cabinet officials to encourage their staffs to return to in-person work this fall.

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As employees began working from home in 2020 when the COVID-19 panic struck, crowded highways became vacant, while firms found themselves paying steep rents for unoccupied space and businesses that served office occupants saw their revenues plummet from the subsequent drop in foot traffic.

Problem is, the employees in question have gotten accustomed to what has become the new normal with regard to remote working. Aside from having added flexibility for child care and running errands, there’s the ability to complete tasks without having to suffer mind-numbing meetings, petty office gossip and fellow workers’ niggling workplace complaints.

On top of that, a forced return to the office hits employees in the pocketbook, having to once again allocate cash for child care, fuel, clothing, dry cleaning, coffee/lunch costs and other expenses, none the least of which is the time that’s wasted sitting unproductive in rush-hour traffic.

According to an analysis of average daily and yearly commuting costs in 170 U.S. cities conducted by the Chamber of Commerce , based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the added cost of getting to and from the office could be staggering, depending on where one lives.

Returning workers can expect to lose an annual average $5,748 stuck in traffic, according to the Chamber of Commerce, while those in the San Francisco area will suffer the costliest round trips at a yearly $12,651 in lost wages. Those traffic-bound in the 10 most congested cities can lose an average of $10,000 or more annually to their commutes. We’re featuring a list of the most expensive cities in the nation for commuters below.

To calculate the cost of the time lost while sitting in traffic, the Chamber of Commerce compared the average commute time in each city with the median income for full-time, full-year workers.

As one might expect, the most affordable cities for commuting tend to be smaller metro areas that inherently enjoy less traffic, reduced wages and lower fuel prices. According to the Chamber of Commerce, these include Jackson, Mississippi (an average annual $2,535); Lubbock, Texas ($2,832); Springfield, Missouri ($2,870); Fayetteville, North Carolina ($3,014) and Brownsville, Texas ($3,140).

While inherently making less money than their male counterparts, the study determined that women also face higher commuting costs. While the nationwide average is over $6,300, according to the study, San Francisco again tests employees’ budgets, with an average annual cost for female commuters at $15,381, followed by New York ($13,517), Washington, D.C. ($13,373), Fremont, California ($12,391) and Jersey City, New Jersey ($12,285).

These are the costliest commutes in the U.S. for 2023:

1. San Francisco, CA

Average commute: 58.4 minutes; annual cost: $12,651

2. Fremont, CA

Average commute: 55.2 minutes; annual cost: $12,048

3. Washington, D.C

Average commute: 56.6 minutes; annual cost: $11,067

4. Jersey City, New Jersey

Average commute: 1 hour and 8 minutes; annual cost: $10.903

5. New York, NY

Average commute: 1 hour 20 minutes; annual cost: $10,832

6. Santa Clarita, CA

Average commute: 1 hour 4 minutes; annual cost: $10,743

7. Seattle, WA

Average commute: 53 minutes; annual cost: $10,361

8. Sunnyvale, CA

Average commute: 40 minutes; annual cost: $10,354

9. Frisco, TX

Average commute: 53 minutes; annual cost: $10,093

10. Huntington Beach, CA

Average commute: 53 minutes; annual cost: $9,464

By Jim Gorzelany, Senior Contributor