3 Monmouth County Towns Among Worst N.J. Commutes

Considering that New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, rush hour traffic is not exactly foreign to residents of the Garden State.

Monmouth County residents from Manalapan, Marlboro and Millstone townships suffer through some of the worst daily commutes in New Jersey, according to an investigation by NJ.com.

More than one in every 10 commuters from Manalapan, Marlboro and Millstone travel at least three hours to and from work every day.

About one-third of Marlboro Township commuters travel more than two hours to get to work every day, and almost 37 percent travel more than one hour daily.

Even though Marlboro Township is the only Monmouth County town to crack the top five with commutes longer than 60 minutes, Millstone and Manalapan townships join Marlboro to take three of the top five spots with commutes longer than 90 minutes.

The three Monmouth County townships have between 12 and 17 percent of residents traveling 90 minutes every day to work, according to the report. West Windsor Township in Mercer County and Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County complete the top five.

Along with commuters from towns in Mercer and Sussex counties, about one in three residents from some Monmouth County towns travel more than an hour to get to work each day, according to NJ.com

On average, Garden State commuters spend slightly more than one hour each day coming to and from work, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The average New Jersey commute is about 25 percent longer than the rest of the nation, clocking in at 30.9 minutes.

More than 15 percent of commuters in certain Monmouth and Mercer county towns travel more than three hours per day commuting, according to Census data. After accounting for two weeks vacation and standard holidays, these people spend about one month of every year commuting.

The towns with the absolute worst commutes lie exactly between New York City and Philadelphia, according to the report. Historically, these regions have relied on the metropolitan economies for jobs.

The counties are also geographically located at the furthest points of where traveling to either city seems feasible. Residents also have a limited access to mass transit, encouraging them to join the 72 percent of New Jersey commuters that drive to work alone.

The regions with the shortest commutes throughout all of New Jersey are the southern Atlantic, Cumberland and Cape May counties, according to the report. The regional economies are stronger in these counties, allowing more residents to work closer to where they live.

Less than 10 percent of residents in most Cumberland towns travel more than an hour to work, a figure that declines to less than 5 percent for Cape May County residents.