SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Esurance introduced the Esurance Smart Commuting Index, which ranks states based on its residents' commuting experience. According to the Index, the Northwest region is the best place to be a commuter. And Alaska came in at first place.
The commuting score was calculated based on four factors: time, method, safety, and work-related happiness and well-being. Below are the top and bottom 10 states in the Esurance Smart Commuting Index. See the full rankings of all the states and categories here.
States with Most Improved Commute Times: Wyoming, Montana and West Virginia
Hawaii and Massachusetts Are Most Improved for Alternative Transportation Use
Best Scores for Safety: Minnesota, Hawaii, Illinois, Washington and New York
The Northwest Wins for Workplace Happiness and Well-Being, Led by Alaska and North Dakota
Overall Highest-Scoring States
Overall Lowest-Scoring States
1
Alaska
41
New Hampshire
2
Utah
42
Alabama
3
Montana
43
Connecticut
4
South Dakota
44
Maryland
5
Wyoming
45
Rhode Island
6
Idaho
46
Tennessee
7
Wisconsin
47
New York
8
Hawaii
48
South Carolina
9
Colorado
49
New Jersey
10
Minnesota
50
Delaware
Best Overall Score: the Northwest Region, with Alaska Coming out on Top In general, the Northwest is the best place to be a commuter, based on the Index. Seven of the top 10 states are located in that region.
The best-scoring state is Alaska, ranking at the top across the categories. Alaska boasts short commute times that have bucked national trends and remained steady over the years. There has also been a 40 percent increase in the number of people who walk to work and a 20 percent increase in the number of people working from home over the past 10 years.
Utah ranked second, reflecting its ever-improving commute times, good marks for safety and happiness, and the fact that more people are seeking alternatives to driving. In fact, they have increased carpool usage by more than 8 percent in the past 10 years — taking more than 12,000 cars off the road during peak commute times.
Most Room for Improvement: the East Coast, with Delaware at the Bottom The East Coast scored the worst in the Index, with eight of the bottom 10 losing ground in overall commuter experience. Delaware ranks last in the Index results. Across the board, Delaware scores the lowest on critical categories for commute time and limited use of alternative transportation methods. In fact, Delaware residents experience a commute that has increased by almost 9 percent from 2007-2016. Its best score was for safety, where it ranked 34th.
Steps toward Painless Commuting Commuting can be a pain. But there are certain things you can do to make it more manageable.
If you adopt another method of transportation or start to work from home more and commute less, you could save on gas, parking, car maintenance, and tolls. Also, reach out to your insurance company. Commuting is one of the factors in determining your rate, so your insurance costs may go down.
Consider carpooling. Not only will the time go by faster, but you'll save on expenses as well. Your commute could also become one of the bright spots in your day.
Above all, put safety first. Being on the road during peak traffic times increases the likelihood of an accident. In 2016, 16 percent of fatal accidents happened between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., and 10 percent occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., according to IIHS.
Make your good driving pay off. With Esurance DriveSense®, you can receive a personalized discount based on your driving habits.
Survey methodology: To create the Esurance Smart Commuting Index, Esurance combined a variety of sources to develop six indexes, which it then aggregated to generate an overall index. For time and method scores, the company used data from U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder. For safety scores, it used data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. For happiness scores, Esurance combined data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monster/Brandwatch Social Data study, and Gallup's Well-Being Index. For the final rankings, Esurance 4x weighted time ranks, weighted method ranks 2x and safety and happiness rankings 1x to place more value on time and method scores.
About Esurance® Esurance provides auto, homeowners, motorcycle, and renters insurance direct to consumers online and over the phone. With an easy-to-use mobile app, helpful online tools like photo claims and Coverage Counselor®, and knowledgeable experts, Esurance is the smart choice for today's web-savvy consumer. And as a member of the Allstate family with an A+ rating from A.M. Best*, Esurance offers auto and home insurance that's just a click, call, or tap away.
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*Esurance Insurance Company and Esurance Property and Casualty Insurance Company have A+ u positive ratings. Esurance Insurance Company of New Jersey has an A rating. Ratings effective as of October 2017. Click here for a guide to A.M. Best's Credit Ratings™. Allstate products are not available through Esurance.
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