Citing better pay, 53 percent of Warren County residents commute elsewhere to work

It’s all about the money.

Earning a living wage is what compels nearly 53-percent of Warren County workers to gas up the car and commute to a job outside the county.

According to data from the 2020 U.S. Census, the average commute time for Warren County wage-earners is nearly 42 minutes, about 45-percent longer than the state average and 51-percent longer than the national average commute. In fact, that travel time is enough to earn Warren County the dubious spot of 15^th longest commute amongst all counties nationwide.

Royal Examiner reader Angela Toler says she travels about 140 miles roundtrip to her job as an interior designer for Arlington County because she cannot “afford to work anywhere ‘west’.” Her typical day is 9.5 hours. She usually works either 5 AM-2:30 PM or 5:30 AM-3 PM.

Toler said she rode the Commuter Connection bus for about two years, but between low ridership and COVID, it stopped running. Fortunately, with the COVID-19 pandemic, she was able to telework frequently. Post-COVID, Toler typically commutes two days a week and works from home the other three days.

Toler has made that commute for nearly 16 years. She said that her salary,” by Arlington standards is almost low-income.” Her job doesn’t exist in less-populated areas, such as Warren County, and her salary is at the low end of what similar jobs pay in Fairfax County, Alexandria, Prince William County and Montgomery County, MD. She also says her Arlington County job does not afford her the option of living in the county where she works. Toler would rather commute, she said, than “be living with a houseful of roommates.”

County resident Teresa Lamb also commutes to her job, close to 50 miles each way. Lamb lives in the southern part of Warren County, near Thunderbird Farms, and travels to southern Frederick County, Virginia, each day. Lamb has gotten her commute down to a science, saying, “It takes me about 25 minutes to the Walmart stoplight (at Riverton Commons) and about 17 minutes to get to my job from there.”

“Route 522 traffic is terrible between 6-7 AM.  There are lots of semis as well between 4-5 PM.  Stoplights kill my time,” Lamb stated.  Despite the travel time and the stress of heavy traffic both ways around Riverton Commons, Lamb says she works outside Warren County for the money.

Front Royal resident Steve Campbell has commuted from Front Royal to Northern Virginia his entire career. He commuted to Mt. Vernon High School for his senior year, graduating in 1987, then began working for Fairfax County Schools in 1988; he’s been commuting for 34 years.

Campbell’s daily commute to Springfield is 65 miles each way, with travel time ranging between 55-90 minutes, depending on the traffic. Like Toler, he does not work a traditional 9-5 schedule, typically working 5:30 AM–2 PM.  He says, “Thankfully I miss most of the traffic in the afternoon but I’m finding out more and more (especially after the pandemic) that 2 PM is the new 3:30 PM as far as traffic goes.” Campbell continues, “Add into the equation the widening of Interstate 66 and it can test your patience for sure!” Still, he says it is about the money. I can’t make what I make in Front Royal or anywhere closer than Manassas.”

For his remaining 5-6 years of daily commuting, Campbell says he’ll use the Pay lanes when they open. He opined, “I find the commute more and more stressful due to so many people using cell phones and not paying attention. Going straight through when there is a lane shift, changing lanes without looking is a big plague now. I’m hopeful that when the hot lanes open later this year it relieves some of the stress.”

Surprisingly, since he began commuting to his Fairfax job in 1988, Campbell has used just four vehicles – three of them accumulated at least 200,000 miles and one was totaled in an accident. “My current car, a 2020 Sonata, gets great gas mileage, 40 MPH-plus on the highway. It a has lifetime powertrain/electric/interior warranty so it will be my last car until I retire. Like over 75-percent of Warren County commuters, all three drivers interviewed drive alone.

Royal Examiner reached out to Warren County Administrator Ed Daley, Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA) Chairman Jeff Browne, as well as each Board of Supervisor (BOS) member via email on April 29, listing the U.S. Census stats for the county, and asking for their thoughts and how things might change in the future. Daley inquired about the source of the data, which Royal Examiner provided. He did not respond further.

None of the BOS panel responded. Browne asked for a link to the statistics and expressed the authority’s continuing effort to bring living wage companies into the community. Browne’s response will be part of a subsequent story on this topic.

The statistics shared with Warren County officials regarding commuting times are concerning.  Warren County ranks third in the state for longest commutes–only workers from Westmoreland and Cumberland Counties spend more time on the road each workday. Over 75-percent of those commuting drive alone; about 12-percent have a one-way trip exceeding 90 minutes.

Dr. Christopher Fitzgerald, a Cedars-Sinai internal medicine physician, frequently sees patients for issues like hypertension, back pain, weight gain, and stress, which he says can be caused or worsened by long commutes.

“This is a common issue I talk about with a lot of patients,” Fitzgerald says. “If you have a long commute, it’s taking the place of something in your life that’s healthy and reducing time with your spouse or your children or friends.”

Dr. Fitzgerald says sitting for prolonged periods has a proven negative effect on the heart and overall health; longer commutes mean more sedentary time. He says commuters should try to take at least 5,000 steps a day, if not 10,000.

Other measures to combat the effects of a long daily commute include parking further away from the worksite, taking the stairs as often as possible and walking and stretching during meal breaks. Getting some exercise at work is important Fitzgerald says, because once commuters get home, they are tired, and less likely to exercise.

Warren County Commuter Statistics from the 2020 U. S. Census:

• Average commute time: 41.7 minutes
• #15 longest among all counties nationwide
• 3% longer than the state average
• 1% longer than the national average
• Workers with 90+ minute commute: 11.6%
• Left for work from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m.: 27.8%
• Worked outside the county of residence: 52.9%
• Means of transportation: drove alone (75.1%), carpooled (14.9%), walked (2.1%), public transportation (0.2%), worked from home (6.9%)