The Burrow
Aug 1, 2025
If you’re someone who needs to use public transport on a regular basis, then it’s probably pretty clear to see that commute times in 2025 are starting to stretch beyond all reasonable limits!
From gridlocked Sydney traffic to chronic delays in London and Los Angeles, workers spend a lot of their time simply getting from A to B and back again. But these lengthy, stressful commutes aren’t just an inconvenience, they can also impact where people choose to live and what kind of home they can afford. Rising transport costs and congestion are increasingly influencing homebuying decisions, especially for those looking to relocate closer to work or escape the worst commute zones altogether.
As experts in comparing home loans and helping Australians to refinance, we decided to do the research and reveal some of the worst areas for commuting between home and work in 2025. You can view the 2023 iteration of this data here.
So, to give you a feel for how busy our streets are getting, here are the worst commutes in the world.
When it comes to influencing property decisions and pushing homebuyers to reconsider where they live, these ten cities top each country. Each one is accompanied by its total commuting score out of 100 – the lower the score, the worse the commute:
As you might expect, with its notorious traffic bottlenecks, steep geography and housing crunch, San Francisco is home to the worst commutes in the world. With much of the workforce priced out of central neighbourhoods, many employees endure long daily treks across the crowded Bay Bridge or winding Marin Headlands. When combined, these factors cement San Francisco’s place at the top of the global commute pain index.
Of course, that’s not to say that the other cities in our top 10 are doing much better, and anyone who’s ever stepped into the subways and underground stations of New York and London knows just how cramped these little boxes can get during rush hour!
Melbourne claims the bottom spot with a 10km commute there taking an average of 22.4 minutes, congestion reaching 34%, and the monthly public transport cost being the highest in the country at AUD$220.00. When factoring in all elements—from travel time to financial burden—Melbourne receives a total commuting score of just 53.29, making it the worst Australian city for commuters in this ranking.
Despite being one of Australia’s most iconic and frequently visited cities, Sydney still struggles with significant commuting challenges. Rapid population growth, high congestion levels (28%), and steep monthly public transport costs (AUD$200.00) have earned it the position of the second-worst city for commuting in the country, with a total commuting score of 55.37 out of 100.
Adelaide has a total commuting score of 55.96, making it the third-worst city for commuting in Australia, with factors contributing to this being an average commute time of 22.3 minutes and a congestion level of 35%.
When it comes to the best cities for commuting in Australia, Darwin comes in at number one (89.60) with an overall congestion level of just 16%. While Wollongong comes second with a total commuting score of 87.51, where a 10km commute only takes 13.4 minutes. Finally, Brisbane came third with a total commuting score of 78.73, which is mainly due to a relatively low monthly public transport cost of AUD$20.00.
Now that we’ve looked at Australia, how do cities in the US and UK compare when it comes to commuting?
Well, if you live in San Francisco, you can expect a 10km commute to take 26.5 minutes. While in New York City, the same distance will take 31.1 minutes, whereas in Los Angeles, it’s 16.5 minutes. However, while LA commute times might be the lowest, the congestion level in LA is actually the highest of the three, sitting at 43% compared to 32% in San Francisco and 30% in NYC.
Another element that makes San Francisco the worst US city for commuting is how much it costs to get around. You can expect to pay US$44.20 for monthly commuting compared to US$35.28 in Los Angeles and US$31.62 in New York City. The price of public transport also differs enormously, as it costs US$120 per month in San Francisco compared to US$116 in NYC and just US$70 in LA.
Overall, these factors give scores of 42.56 (Los Angeles), 19.41 (New York City) and the lowest in the world, 16.18 (San Francisco).
As for the UK, London often takes the spotlight for its long commutes and high transport costs but it’s actually Dublin that ranks as the worst city for commuters in Europe based on our analysis. With a total commuting score of just 16.49, Dublin suffers from a combination of high congestion (47%), lengthy commute times (32.8 minutes for 10km), and steep monthly transport costs (€80). London is, unsurprisingly, one of the worst cities for commuting, as it takes an average of 33.3 minutes to commute 10km, while other large cities in the UK are nowhere near as bad for commuters.
Manchester (total commuting score of 41.83) cuts the 10km commute to 24.8 minutes, and Birmingham takes this even lower to just 20.8 minutes, despite its congestion rate (38%) being a little higher than that of London (32%).
Overall, even though the commute travel time and monthly costs are relatively high in the UK, San Francisco still takes the number one spot for the worst city for commuting.
At the end of the day, commuting around any city will never be a stress-free experience, but if your daily journey is eating up too much of your time (and your budget), it might be time to consider a change.
As Stephen Zeller, General Manager of Money at Compare the Market notes, commutes can have a massive impact on choosing where to live.
“Lengthy commutes can really impact your day-to-day quality of life, from reduced family time to rising transport costs. If your long journey to and from work is pushing you to rethink your living situation, you’re not alone,” Mr Zeller said.
“For many, commutes are a major factor when deciding where to live and where to buy a home. That’s why it’s so important to consider your commute when choosing a home, especially if you’re weighing up home loan options in different suburbs or regions. Location is key. Less time on the road means more time at home — right where it matters most.”
This dataset contains 2 rankings: one ranks 40 cities in the US and the other ranks 60 Australian and European cities, based on how good they are for commuting.
To do this, 4 different factors were used, and once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalized to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given.
The normalised values were then summed and multiplied to give each city a total score out of 100, and the cities were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used were as follows:
The factors were then indexed where lower figures related to better scores.
All data is correct as of 27/06/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided. Monthly costs were calculated under the assumption of 20 working days a month.
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