The average commuter in Kings Park is spending more than a half hour in the car every morning commute, but Census data show they are most likely riding alone.
Despite years of high gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, 84 percent of Kings Park's nearly 8,000 commuters ride alone to work, while 5 percent carpool, according U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates from 2007-2011.
When it comes to public transportation, only 8 percent take a bus or a train to work, 1 percent use other means such as taxi, bicycle or motorcycle and 2 percent actually walk to work.
While 32.1 minutes is the average commuter time for Kings Park overall, a recently compiled map by WNYC shows how commute time can vary by a minute or two depending on the neighborhood, though most communities in the greater Smithtown area hover around the 30-minute mark. Click here to see the full interactive map.
Of course, 5 percent of workers in Kings Park have no commute at all: They work at home.
Census figures show that about 8.1 percent of U.S. workers have commutes of 60 minutes or longer — known as long commutes — and nearly 600,000 full-time workers had "megacommutes" of at least 90 minutes and 50 miles.
The average one-way daily commute for workers across the country is 25.5 minutes, and one in four commuters leave their county to work.
Workers who live in New York State have the highest rate of long commutes at 16.2 percent, followed by Maryland and New Jersey at 14.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.
OCCUPATION Estimate Margin of Error Percent Percent Margin of Error Civilian employed population 16 years and over 8,217 +/-469 (X) (X) Management, business, science, and arts occupations 3,693 +/-341 44.9% +/-4.2 Service occupations 1,132 +/-214 13.8% +/-2.4 Sales and office occupations 2,066 +/-330 25.1% +/-3.5 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 736 +/-207 9.0% +/-2.4 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 590 +/-160 7.2% +/-1.9 TotalCar, truck, or van - drove aloneCar, truck, or van - carpooledPublic transportation (excluding taxicab)WalkedTaxicab, motorcycle, bicycle, or other meansWorked at home White 7,798 6,537 357 557 139 56 152 Black or African American 35 24 0 11 0 0 0 American Indian and Alaska Native 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Asian 108 62 0 46 0 0 0 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Some Other Race 45 45 0 0 0 0 0 Two Or More Races 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hispanic or Latino 266 253 8 5 0 0 0