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Commuting and car dependence across the rural-urban continuum of United States counties

Author

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  • Guerrero, Edixon Chacón
  • echaconguerrer@stmarytx.edu

Abstract

Introduction: Car dependence and long commutes are widely associated with rural residence, yet county-level evidence across the full rural-urban continuum of the United States is incomplete. Methods: Cross-sectional ecological analysis of all 3,144 United States counties and county equivalents using American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates and the USDA Economic Research Service 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. Metropolitan (codes 1 to 3) and nonmetropolitan (codes 4 to 9) counties were compared with Welch t-tests, Spearman correlations and population-weighted sensitivity analyses. Results: Nonmetropolitan counties had shorter median commutes (18.6 versus 24.1 minutes; difference −5.5 minutes, 95% CI -5.9 to -5.1) and higher car dependence (76.8% versus 74.9% driving alone; difference 1.9 percentage points). County-level zero-vehicle household rates did not differ (0.2 percentage points, 95% CI -0.1 to 0.6), although population weighting reversed this result. Conclusions: Rural counties commute shorter distances but depend more on private cars; vehicle-less households concentrate in large cities, so rural and urban transport disadvantage take different forms.

Suggested Citation

  • Guerrero, Edixon Chacón & echaconguerrer@stmarytx.edu, 2026. "Commuting and car dependence across the rural-urban continuum of United States counties," SAP Transport, Mobility & Society, South American Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwf:tmsart:tms2026339
    DOI: 10.62486/tms2026339
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