If you feel like your commute around Metro Phoenix has gotten shorter, you’re not just imagining it. 

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Despite a nationwide increase in the average daily commute, Mesa commuters have seen a 10.6% decrease in their daily commute time, according to a new study by business resource LLC.org. 

Over the last decade, the average daily commute in Mesa has decreased from 50.6 minutes to 45.2 minutes. It may not seem like much, but for full-time workers, it means 22 fewer hours on the road annually compared with a decade ago. 

Mesa stats include: 

  • The average daily commute in Mesa is 45.20 minutes. Ten years ago, the average daily commute was 50.6 minutes. 
  • There has been a considerable drop since the pandemic and remote work adoption. Since 2019, Mesa’s commute dropped 35.9 hours yearly. 
  • Mesa’s commute is 4.6 minutes quicker than the commute in Phoenix proper on a daily basis. 

Nearby Gilbert has also shaved time off the clock – commutes have decreased from 55 to 52 minutes over the last decade, saving commuters 12.25 hours annually.

Among the 170 cities within our analysis, two-thirds have seen an increase in their commute time over the past decade, while less than one-third saw a decrease.

Mesa ranks 4th for cities with the largest decrease in average daily commute time, Gilbert ranks 13th. 

  • More than 45.5 million Americans have a daily commute that’s at least an hour or more.
  • Year-over-year, the average roundtrip commute has increased by nine hours per year.
  • On average, a typical full-time worker in America who commutes to work spends nine full days per year commuting – or 215.6 hours. 
  • Flight attendants have the longest commute in the nation, with an average roundtrip commute of one hour and 57 minutes. 

The study analyzed commute time for full-time workers across 530 detailed occupations as well as the 170 most populated cities in the country. 

You can find the full study here.