WASHINGTON — There’s a lot of complaining about traffic congestion in the D.C. area. What’s certain is that it adds time to the daily commute, and when you combine time at work and time getting to work and back home, Washingtonians have the third longest workweek in the nation: 48 hours and 39 minutes.
“I live in Mt. Pleasant and I walk from my home to Cleveland Park Metro, hop on the Red Line and get off at Medical Center,” says Lois Clinton. She says it takes her 50 minutes each way to and from her job at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
But she’s not complaining. Clinton figures she’s lucky she doesn’t have to navigate the Washington area’s congested highways.
“I would never take a job where I have to drive on the Beltway,” Clinton says.
The New York City Comptroller has released a study examining workweek times around the country, and concludes New Yorkers have longer workweeks than workers in 29 other major U.S. cities — 49 hours and eight minutes. San Franciscans have the second longest workweek, at 48 hours and 58 minutes.
The New York City Comptroller’s data finds New Yorkers spend six hours and 18 minutes each week commuting, compared to D.C.’s average weekly commute of four hours and 49 minutes. But D.C. workers have longer working hours — 43 hours and 50 minutes per week, compared to 42 hours and 50 minutes in New York.
Baltimore’s workweek winds up ninth on the list of longest, at 47 hours and 25 minutes, four hours and 51 minutes of which is commuting time.
Most D.C.-area commuters live in the suburbs and commute into the city. But Will Coley lives in Northwest D.C. and teaches in Prince George’s County. The commute takes him about one hour and 15 minutes each way.
“I choose to live in the city and go to where I work, so I know it’s going to be long,” Coley says.
