Commuting distance depends on how it is measured. The 2021 Census counted straight-line distance between a resident’s home and workplace or depot in England and Wales, while the National Travel Survey measured annual miles travelled on commuting trips in England. Those different measures show a consistent picture of variation: short workplace distances are common, but annual commuting mileage is higher for some regions, employment groups and age bands.
Contents
- What the 2021 Census measured
- Distance bands in England and Wales
- Annual commuting distance in England
- Work status and travel mode
- Regional differences
- Urban and rural commuting
- Age and sex differences
What the 2021 Census measured
The Office for National Statistics’ Travel to work, England and Wales: Census 2021 reported that 15.1 million people travelled to a workplace or depot in 2021. That was 54.3% of usual residents aged 16 and over who were in employment.
The Census also recorded 8.7 million people, or 31.2% of the group, working mainly at or from home. A further 4.0 million, or 14.4%, worked mainly at an offshore installation, in no fixed place, or outside the UK. These categories matter when interpreting distance bands: the distance figures describe employed usual residents, but not every worker had a conventional fixed workplace to which a home-to-work distance could be assigned.
The Census Day took place during pandemic restrictions. Its results therefore describe travel-to-work circumstances in 2021, when homeworking and disrupted commuting were unusually important. The Census distance bands are straight-line distances between residence and workplace or depot, not road-route distances and not annual miles travelled.
Distance bands in England and Wales
Among employed usual residents aged 16 and over in England and Wales, 9.8 million people travelled less than 10 kilometres to work in 2021, representing 35.4% of the group. The shorter bands were distributed fairly evenly within that total: 3.1 million travelled less than 2 kilometres, or 11.0%; 3.5 million travelled at least 2 kilometres but less than 5 kilometres, or 12.6%; and 3.3 million travelled at least 5 kilometres but less than 10 kilometres, or 11.8%.
Longer distance bands contained smaller shares. Some 2.9 million people travelled at least 10 kilometres but less than 20 kilometres, equal to 10.5%. The 20-to-under-30-kilometre band included 1.1 million people, or 4.1%. Another 470,000 people travelled at least 30 kilometres but less than 40 kilometres, or 1.7%; 359,000 travelled at least 40 kilometres but less than 60 kilometres, or 1.3%; and 383,000 travelled 60 kilometres or more, or 1.4%.
| Census 2021 straight-line distance to work | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 2 km | 3.1 million | 11.0% |
| 2 km to under 5 km | 3.5 million | 12.6% |
| 5 km to under 10 km | 3.3 million | 11.8% |
| 10 km to under 20 km | 2.9 million | 10.5% |
| 20 km to under 30 km | 1.1 million | 4.1% |
| 30 km to under 40 km | 470,000 | 1.7% |
| 40 km to under 60 km | 359,000 | 1.3% |
| 60 km or more | 383,000 | 1.4% |
The national pattern differed between the two countries. In Wales, 36.3% travelled less than 10 kilometres to work and 24.2% travelled 10 kilometres or more. In England, 35.4% travelled less than 10 kilometres and 18.7% travelled 10 kilometres or more. These percentages are Census 2021 straight-line bands, so they should not be read as annual driving distance or journey length by road. ONS, “Travel to work, England and Wales: Census 2021”.
Local authority patterns also varied. Kingston upon Hull had the highest percentage among English local authorities travelling less than 10 kilometres to work, at 61.1%. Breckland had the highest percentage travelling 10 kilometres or more, at 35.0%.
Annual commuting distance in England
The Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey 2025 uses a different measure: weighted annual miles per person for commuting trips in England. Commuting was England’s second most common trip purpose in 2025, at 112 trips per person, and had the longest average distance at 1,031 miles per person. The average commuting distance was 1,007 miles per person in 2024.
The 2025 average was 19% lower than in 2019. That comparison captures a substantial change in commuting behaviour, but it does not mean that every worker’s journey became 19% shorter. It is an annual per-person estimate for commuting travel, and the 2020–2025 series was affected by pandemic behaviour and by a change to the digital diary in 2025.
The Census and National Travel Survey answer different questions. The Census assigns employed residents to straight-line distance bands on a particular Census Day. The National Travel Survey estimates miles accumulated through commuting trips over a year. The two sources should not be combined as though kilometres and annual miles were interchangeable.
Work status and travel mode
Employment status is strongly associated with annual commuting mileage. In England in 2025, full-time employees travelled an average of 2,471.1 commuting miles per person, compared with 1,103.8 miles for part-time employees. Self-employed people travelled an average of 1,173.1 commuting miles per person. Across all commuting modes, employed people travelled an average of 2,064.1 miles per person.
The same National Travel Survey table shows how the total was distributed by main mode. Employed people travelled an average of 1,322.8 miles per person as car or van drivers and 107.1 miles as car or van passengers. The corresponding averages were 21.3 miles on foot, 36.9 miles by pedal cycle, 16.1 miles by motorcycle, 72.8 miles by non-local bus, 90.8 miles by surface rail, 1.1 miles by London Underground, and 12.2 miles by taxi or minicab.
These are miles per person for commuting travel in 2025, not the distance of a typical single trip. They also describe the main-mode categories used by the survey. DfT, “NTS0412: Commuter trips and distance by employment status and main mode: England, 2002 onwards”.
Earlier Census-based evidence shows that commuting patterns had already been changing before 2021. The ONS analysis of changes to Travel to Work Areas reported that the share of UK workers travelling at least 10 kilometres to work rose from 32.3% in 2001 to 35.8% in 2011. Among UK workers aged 16 to 74, the share working mainly at or from home reached 10.3% in 2011. These are legacy figures from the 2001 and 2011 periods and are not independent verification of the later Census or survey estimates.
Regional differences
In 2025, the East of England recorded the highest average commuting distance among English regions, at 1,297.6 miles per person. The South East followed at 1,278.5 miles, while London recorded 1,095.0 miles. Outside London, the average was 1,019.3 miles per person.
| English region, 2025 | Commuting miles per person |
|---|---|
| East of England | 1,297.6 |
| South East | 1,278.5 |
| London | 1,095.0 |
| West Midlands | 1,006.8 |
| South West | 922.8 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 867.4 |
| North West | 865.5 |
| North East | 842.7 |
| East Midlands | 792.2 |
The West Midlands recorded 1,006.8 commuting miles per person. The South West recorded 922.8, Yorkshire and the Humber 867.4, and the North West 865.5. The North East recorded 842.7, while the East Midlands recorded the lowest regional figure, at 792.2 miles per person.
The regional figures are annual commuting miles per person from the National Travel Survey, not Census straight-line distance bands. DfT, “NTS0413: Average number of trips, miles and time spent travelling by trip purpose and region of residence: England, 2002 onwards”.
Urban and rural commuting
Settlement type produced another uneven pattern in England in 2025. All urban residents recorded an average of 1,007.0 commuting miles per person, compared with 1,168.5 for all rural residents.
Within the categories, urban residents nearer to a major town or city recorded 1,000.6 miles per person, while urban residents further from a major town or city recorded 1,082.3 miles. Larger-rural residents nearer to a major town or city recorded 1,264.0 miles, compared with 1,124.9 for larger-rural residents further away. Smaller-rural residents nearer to a major town or city recorded 1,115.4 miles.
The figures do not establish why one settlement category has a higher average. They show differences in annual commuting mileage by residence classification. DfT, “NTS0414: Average number of trips, miles and time spent travelling by trip purpose and rural-urban classification of residence: England, 2002 onwards”.
Age and sex differences
Commuting mileage also varied by age in England in 2025. People aged 17 to 20 travelled an average of 680.3 miles per person for commuting. The figure rose to 1,814.4 miles for ages 21 to 29 and was 1,754.7 miles for ages 30 to 39. People aged 40 to 49 recorded the highest listed age-group figure, at 1,860.8 miles.
Average commuting distance then fell to 1,647.2 miles for ages 50 to 59 and 789.0 miles for ages 60 to 69. People aged 70 and over travelled an average of 63.8 miles per person for commuting.
Across all ages, females travelled an average of 726.4 commuting miles per person, while males travelled 1,347.5 miles. These are survey estimates of annual commuting miles per person, not a measure of the straight-line distance from home to work. DfT, “NTS0611: Average number of trips and distance travelled by sex, age and purpose: England, 2002 onwards”.
Taken together, the statistics show why a single “average commuting distance” can be misleading. A Census distance band, an annual travel estimate, a regional average and a mode-specific total describe different dimensions of commuting. Geography, work status, age, sex and settlement type all change the reported result, while the Census 2021 pandemic context and the National Travel Survey’s 2020–2025 methodological context limit direct comparisons across measures.