Oak Forest Makes List of Chicagoland's Worst Commutes: NerdWallet

Think your drive to work is among the most miserable in Chicagoland?

Residents of a few Southland communities can claim that fame in their towns. Oak Forest—along with Orland Park and Tinley Park—are among those with the top 10 worst commutes in Chicagoland, according to consumer finance website NerdWallet.com. Oak Forest grabbed the tenth spot.

“Whether they are commuting downtown or to Schaumburg, Chicago-area workers can expect long and expensive trips,” NerdWallet noted. “They waste 51 hours each year as a result of congestion.”

But when it comes to which towns have it the worst, Will County’s Plainfield and Romeoville were No. 2 and No. 4 on the list, respectively. Tinley Park ranks fifth and Orland Park fifth.

NerdWallet said it analyzed the two biggest commuting costs — time and money — when coming up with its rankings. The site determined the “worst” suburbs for Chicago-area commutes by anaylzing:

1. How expensive is gas? (10%) We looked at average gas prices in each county.
2. How expensive is insurance? (15%) Insurance is a large cost for commuters. Annual insurance premiums differ greatly from place to place, so we wanted to accurately assess the financial burden it placed on commuters.
3. How long are workers’ commutes? (55%) We looked at the length of the average worker’s one-way commute.
4. Are there many commuters? (20%) We looked at the percentage of workers in each suburb who drive alone to work. A suburb with a large percentage of solo commuters will often face increased congestion, which can lead to even longer commutes.

According to the site, the average commute time for Chicago-area drivers is 28.38 minutes. In Oak Forest, workers face an average commute time of of 30.6 minutes each way. Roughly 82.5 percent of Oak Forest commuters drive to work alone.

Cook County has the highest average gas prices at $3.89, NerdWallet reported. And as far as insurance premiums go, Oak Forest drivers pay an average of $1,146.56, compared to the Chicago area’s highest average of $1,340.81, found in Harvey.

The dubious honor of worst commute went to No. 1 pick Calumet City. Other names you might recognize not in the top 10 but still included on the list are Bolingbrook at No. 13 and Joliet at No. 26.

View all the rankings here.