Travel time to work can indicate the availability of desirable and available housing near work areas, as well as transportation options available to workers in a region. In addition, travel time is a general bellwether for traffic congestion, as well as air pollution and related health problems.

In 2014-18, the average travel time for MetroWest commuters was 31 minutes. This was an increase of 3 minutes since 2000. The region's average travel time was slightly higher than Massachusetts as a whole (30 minutes) and higher than the national average (27 minutes).

Among the region's counties, Norfolk had the longest commute time (34 minutes), followed by Middlesex (31) and Worcester (29). The longest commute times were in Sherborn (40 minutes), Boxborough (39 minutes), and Medfield, Holliston and Hopkinton (all 38 minutes), while the shortest was in Waltham (26 minutes). Natick had a slightly longer commute than MetroWest as a whole (33 minutes), while Framingham was slightly less (30).

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are expected to be released annually in December.