REPORT: Minnesota + Wisconsin Residents Pay Surprisingly High Commuting Costs

Working a full-time job can be a grind, with many people exceeding the perceived standard of a 40-hour work week. As if the time spent at work wasn't enough, you also should factor in commuting times and the costs that are related to that.

Since over three-quarters of American commuters drive their own car to work every day, those commuting costs can add fast for a lot of people once you consider fuel costs for the round-trip distance to work along with things like maintenance and insurance costs. With that in mind, Assurance IQ designed a study to determine and compare the commuting costs across the country.

To complete the study, they analyzed statewide average commuting data to find the states where residents who drive to work spend the most money on their commute. These expenditures factor in additional costs like gas and car insurance, which can go up if you have a long commute because it increases your time on the road.

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Next, they found the mean commuting times for people living in some of the fastest-growing U.S. suburbs to see how much of their weeks are spent going to and from work. This data helped to determine whether a long commute in different states is worth the effort.

It's important to note that due to a lack of data, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming were not included in the study.

The study found that the average annual commuting cost of the 41 states researched was $2,062.90. Massachusetts had the lowest commuting cost at $1,357.24, while New York came out on top with a whopping $3,196.57 annual commuting cost. For New Yorkers, that amounts to 4.3% of their median income.

Minnesota and Wisconsin both ranked surprisingly high in this study. Wisconsin had an annual commuting cost of $2,311.14, which is the 11th highest cost of the states in this study. Minnesota finished in 13th place, with an annual commuting cost of $2,152.37.

Time is money, so if you're one of the roughly 45% of people who move for long-term career prospects or a new job offer, commute times and related costs should most definitely factor into your decision of where to go.