Rising housing costs likely contributed to an increase in the number of workers along the northern Front Range with grueling commutes of 90 minutes or more each way, and their share is likely to keep growing in the future, according to a new report from Apartment List.

Those workers are called “super commuters,” but the super isn’t a positive description, in that they are spending three hours or more a day just getting to the job.

About 2.1% of the Denver region’s workforce or about 37,000 people faced such a long commute in 2019, up 45.5% from the number who faced that long of a commute in 2010. And it isn’t just about population growth. The growth in super commuters is nearly double the rate seen in all workers between 2010 and 2019.

“Super commuting is definitely reflective of high housing costs in the areas with the best access to the urban core, so as prices increase throughout the Denver metro, I definitely think this is a trend to keep an eye on,” said Chris Salviati, a housing economist with Apartment List and co-author of the report.

The Denver region ranks in the middle of the pack of the 50 “combined statistical areas” studied for the share of workers who are super commuters and the growth rate in super commuters. The metro regions with the largest share of super commuters included Stockton, Calif., at 11.7%; Modesto, Calif., at 9.6%; and Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at 8.5%.

Surprisingly, about 40% of those super commuters live within a 10-mile radius of Denver city hall, meaning that although they are relatively close to the region’s largest employment hub, getting to work still takes them a long time.

A major explanation for that is the heavier reliance on transit in urban areas, Salviati said. Another possible explanation — people who choose to live closer in but have jobs further out.

People who rely on transit to get to work are five times more likely to be super commuters than those who drive to work, he said. About 13.5% of transit riders nationally are super commuters compared to 3.1% of all workers.

Along the northern Front Range, Elbert County has the highest share of super commuters at 6%. Workers coming in from mountain areas like Park County, as well as those coming down from Fort Collins and areas to the west also have more elevated shares of super commuters.

“I think the real takeaway here for planners and policymakers is that areas which are rapidly adding jobs need to do a better job of adding new housing supply to meet that demand, while also prioritizing robust public transit infrastructure,” Salviati said.

Although the pandemic provided a reprieve from commuting for many workers, a shift to more remote work arrangements could actually accelerate the trend, according to the report. A worker who has to come in a couple of days a week might be more inclined to move further out, where homes are more affordable, and put up with a long drive.

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