Will County Towns Make List of Chicagoland's Worst Commutes: NerdWallet

Two Will County communities are among those with the top 10 worst commutes in Chicagoland, according to consumer finance website NerdWallet.com.

“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, Plainfield and Romeoville were No. 2 and No. 4 on the list, respectively.

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 Plainfield, workers face an average commute time of of 38.3 minutes each way. In Romeoville, the average time was 35.6 minutes each way.

While Cook County has the highest average gas prices at $3.89, NerdWallet reported, Plainfield commuters pay an average price of $3.68; the average price is the same in Romeoville.

As far as insurance premiums go, Plainfield drivers pay an average of $1,004.46, compared to the Chicago area’s highest average of $1,340.81, found in Harvey. In Romeoville, the average driver pays a premium of $1,022.63, according to the site.

About 83.3 percent of Plainfield commuters drive to work alone, followed by about 82.8 percent of Romeoville workers, NerdWallet reports.

The dubious honor of worst commute went to No. 1 pick Calumet City. Tinley Park, Orland Park and Oak Forest also ranked in the top 10, according to NerdWallet.

Will County towns 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.