Study shows top 10 Puget Sound areas for worst commutes

Drivers in the Puget Sound region spend more time in traffic than almost anywhere in the county, but new data pinpoints the areas where drivers have the worst commute.

Quick Facts:

• Newwallet.com ranked 45 worst communities to commute from
• Worst commute from Vashon Island
• Graham at 2nd with average of a 40 minute commute
• Correlation between shorter commute times and higher housing costs

People in Graham have one of the roughest rides to work.

The average commute time for people who live in Graham is just under 40 minutes.

That's an average, so there are many days when their commutes stretch over an hour.

They sit in stop and go traffic on State Route 7 and then hit traffic on Highway 512.

If heading west to Interstate 5, there's traffic coming from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which can be a congestion nightmare.

Heading east to come up Highway 167 is another notoriously slow route during the morning commute.

Nerdwallet.com ranked the 45 worst commutes in the Puget Sound region, based on several factors --  length of commute, average price for gas in the starting city, average car insurance premium, number of people who drive alone instead of carpool and the percentage of workers who use public transportation.

The top ten list is as follows:

1: Vashon Island

2. Graham

3: Orting

4: Maple Valley

5: Bonney Lake

6: Spanaway

7: Duvall

8: Lake Stevens

9: Enumclaw

10: Snoqualmie

The study found people who live in larger cities around the Sound usually have easier commutes.

People in Redmond have an average commute time of 21 minutes.

There's also a correlation between shorter commute times and higher housing costs.

KIRO