BIG LAKE, Minn. — Let's face it, commuting is never fun, and if you enjoy commuting -- you still can't deny there are more fun things you'd rather be doing.
However boring it may be, commute times is actually one of many stats the Census Bureau tracks. The bureau released some new numbers recently and here are the 10 shortest commute times and cities in Minnesota.
- Morris, 10 minutes
- International Falls, 11.7 minutes
- Marshall, 12.4 minutes
- Wheaton, 12.8 minutes
- Duluth, 13.3 minutes
- New Ulm, 13.4 minutes
- Hancock 13.4 minutes
- Thief River Falls, 13.5 minutes
- Willmar, 13.5 minutes
- Montevideo, 13.5 minutes
On the opposite end of the spectrum, here are the longest commute times.
- Isanti, 37.4 minutes
- Stachfield, 37.4 minutes
- Zimmerman, 37 minutes
- Ogilvie, 36.6 minutes
- Cedar, 35.4 minutes
- Big Lake, 35.4 minutes
- Montrose, 35.1 minutes
- Marine On Saint Croix, 34.9 minutes
- Wyoming, 34.6 minutes
- Saint Michael, 34.6 minutes
We saw Big Lake on that list and it was honestly the closest one we could get to for the day, so we headed there to talk to some commuters.
Lynn Schulte said 35.4 minutes sounds about right for Big Lake.
"I live in Big Lake and I work in the Osseo school district and it can take anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour depending on how traffic is going and the weather," Schulte said.
She said she's not surprised that her commute has only grown longer in the past decade or so.
"When we first came here, it's a town of 3,000 and now it's 10,000 so they keep building new homes in the different cities as we pass them," Schulte said. "So it doesn't surprise me that the commute keeps getting longer and longer every year."
Schulte said she just tries to keep things positive on bad traffic days. Others like Kim Harkins, have given up on driving, partially.
"I live in Clearwater, Minnesota and I work down at the University of Minnesota," Harkins said. "What I've found to be the best option, is that I drive to Big Lake here and I take the Northstar Commuter train. It connects with Target field and gets me right down to the university."
Still, she said it takes about an hour with the train, still way above the average for Big Lake.
If you absolutely hate your commute, there is another option. Moving closer to work. Schulte said she's thought about that for a while.
"Yes, we've considered doing that, our girls are almost done with school so that's probably a strong possibility," Schulte said.
If you want to take a look at the full list, you can find that here.