Minnesota Largely Escapes Worsening Traffic Woes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesotans have a shorter trip to work on average than Americans nationwide.

The Associated Press analyzed decades of travel and population data and found many regions across the U.S. struggling with traffic congestion that may only worsen. But residents in Minnesota's population centers have commute times shorter than the national average of nearly 26 minutes.

Even residents in the urban Twin Cities region spend less time traveling to work by bus, train or carpool than the average American. Solo drivers' 25-minute commute lines up with the national average.

Unlike many other urban hotspots, Minnesota population centers are building out infrastructure networks faster than traffic growth. And areas like Duluth, Rochester and Minneapolis-St. Paul aren't projected to grow as fast as many other urban hotspots with traffic jams.