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The Problem Has Existed over Endless Years: Racialized Difference in Commuting, 1980–2019

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  • bunten, devin michelle
  • Fu, Ellen
  • Rolheiser, Lyndsey
  • Severen, Christopher
Abstract
How have the longer journeys to work faced by Black commuters evolved in the United States over the last four decades? Black commuters spent 49 more minutes commuting per week in 1980 than White commuters; this difference declined to 22 minutes per week in 2019. Two factors account for the majority of the difference: Black workers are more likely to commute by transit, and Black workers make up a larger share of the population in cities with long average commutes. Increases in car commuting by Black workers account for nearly one quarter of the decline in the racialized difference in commute times between 1980 and 2019. Today, commute times have mostly converged (conditional on observables) for car commuters in small- and mid-sized cities. In contrast, differential job access today drives persistent differences of commute times, particularly in large, congested, and expensive cities.

Suggested Citation

  • bunten, devin michelle & Fu, Ellen & Rolheiser, Lyndsey & Severen, Christopher, 2024. "The Problem Has Existed over Endless Years: Racialized Difference in Commuting, 1980–2019," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:141:y:2024:i:c:s0094119023000116
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2023.103542
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    4. Benjamin Schneider & Jane Whittle, 2024. "Where is the Place in the History of Work? Worksites, Workspaces, and the Home-Work Nexus," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _213, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    5. A.M. Pinna & V. Licio, 2025. "Accessibility across Italy: A grid cell approach," Working Paper CRENoS 202501, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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