Commutes that cross two different state lines, going through three states?

[hbelkins]

Steubenville to Pittsburgh was the one I thought of.

Until the Cumberland Gap Tunnel was built, a trip from Harrogate, Tenn., or points south to Middlesboro, Ky., took you through the southwestern tip of Virginia.

It's probably not too far-fetched for someone to commute from Jenkins, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn., which would involve US 23 through Virginia.

[webny99]

Going back to a few more 3-state examples:

Coal Grove, OH to Kenova, WV passes through Kentucky. 10 miles/20 minutes
Wheeler, VA to Middlesboro, KY passes through Tennessee. 10 miles/14 minutes
Chesterfield, NH to Bernardston, MA passes through Vermont. 23 miles/24 minutes
Glocester, RI to Webster, MA passes through Connecticut. 18 miles/27 minutes

How 'bout an even shorter 4-state commute?
Oxford, PA to anywhere on the NJ side of the Del. Mem. Bridge passes through both Maryland and Delaware. That's about 40 miles, which is a very doable commute.

As far as five states, New England is going to be the best bet. Kittery, ME to southeastern CT is about 2.5 hours/160 miles via NH, MA, and RI.

Can anyone beat 40 miles for a 4 state commute, or 160 miles for a 5 state commute?

[Mapmikey]

New Jersey to DC from the Virginia side is 130 miles-ish (NJ, DE, MD, VA, DC)

Nobody would do this but NJ to Harpers Ferry WV is also less than 160 miles (NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV)

[Roadgeekteen]

Maine - Boston commutes

Northeast PA - NYC commutes

WV - DC commutes

Maybe some commuters from SW Michigan going to Chicago

[webny99]

Can anyone beat 40 miles for a 4 state commute ... ?

Actually, yes.

[debragga]

Beclabito, NM to Aneth, UT passes through Arizona and Colorado, and it's only 40 miles. The drive goes right by the Four Corners Monument where the 4 states intersect.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Beclabito,+NM/Aneth,+UT/@37.0487523,-109.1537014,10.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x873a39f3d7046bf7:0x44a11fa47a8c7704!2m2!1d-109.0195438!2d36.8413878!1m5!1m1!1s0x87398d4b60ce537d:0xbf391d685a40f876!2m2!1d-109.187057!2d37.216108!3e0

[kphoger]

Can anyone beat 40 miles for a 4 state commute ... ?

Actually, yes.

For example, I imagine a school custodian commuting home to his house on this cul-de-sac–25 miles, three state lines crossed.

[NWI_Irish96]

Commutes from the SW corner of Michigan to Chicago are not uncommon.

[TEG24601]

Would you count living in Blaine, WA or Bellingham, WA and commuting to Pt. Roberts, having to cross into BC, then back into WA?


I did have friend in college, who lives with his family during his Co-Op terms.  They lived just off of Ohio 49 near the the turnpike, and worked in Coldwater, MI, always going to work via I-69.

[kphoger]

I think it's possible to live in the SW corner of Michigan and work in Illinois taking you through Indiana.

Maybe some commuters from SW Michigan going to Chicago

Commutes from the SW corner of Michigan to Chicago are not uncommon.

Finally, someone has more than just a hypothetical maybe!

[Roadgeekteen]

I think it's possible to live in the SW corner of Michigan and work in Illinois taking you through Indiana.

Maybe some commuters from SW Michigan going to Chicago

Commutes from the SW corner of Michigan to Chicago are not uncommon.

Finally, someone has more than just a hypothetical maybe!

Oops I didn't read the rest of the thread.

[Flint1979]

Maine - Boston commutes

Northeast PA - NYC commutes

WV - DC commutes

Maybe some commuters from SW Michigan going to Chicago

I mentioned the last one in the 4th post.

[Flint1979]

I think it's possible to live in the SW corner of Michigan and work in Illinois taking you through Indiana.

Maybe some commuters from SW Michigan going to Chicago

Commutes from the SW corner of Michigan to Chicago are not uncommon.

Finally, someone has more than just a hypothetical maybe!

I have shadows.

[Ga293]

At less than 10 miles, I imagine the number of people that commute between North Sioux City, SD and South Sioux City, NE through Sioux City, IA is non-zero.

[Crown Victoria]

Possible 5-state commute from Elkton, MD to Staten Island, at only 120 miles:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Elkton,+Maryland+21921/40.52491,-74.2436/@40.5494275,-74.8980813,10z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!1m1!1s0x89c7a59172dcc743:0x15853b66805e0c08!2m2!1d-75.8332718!2d39.6067789!3m4!1m2!1d-75.3083946!2d39.868618!3s0x89c6c2c641cb3afb:0x4ed88a3f32ce27ea!1m0!3e0?hl=en

I realize that this would be more likely to be a 4-state commute, avoiding PA by using the Delaware Memorial Bridge. However, it's a possibility, and not unreasonable depending on the time of day and the amount of shunpiking one wishes to do.

[Scott5114]

Can anyone beat 40 miles for a 4 state commute ... ?

Actually, yes.

For example, I imagine a school custodian commuting home to his house on this cul-de-sac–25 miles, three state lines crossed.

"Burnt Factory, West Virginia" has to be among the least appealing toponyms in the United States.

[webny99]

"Burnt Factory, West Virginia" has to be among the least appealing toponyms in the United States.

Perfect fit for the Rust Belt, though.

[Roadgeekteen]

Do any people commute from the Florida Peninsula to Mississippi and vice versa?

[Sctvhound]

Toccoa, GA to Cashiers, NC. 55 miles going through SC.

https://goo.gl/maps/8s1bgMPkGJnVu7TH6

[wxfree]

Another example I just thought of - Liberal, Kansas (in the southwest corner of that state) is home to a meat-packing plant. I'm sure it's got some workers who live in the north end of the Texas panhandle - which, in that case, would take them across the Oklahoma panhandle.

I've found a much more likely three-state commute that involves Kansas.

It's only a ten-minute commute from this trailer park to the nearby casino.

Change that to the "Downstream Casino RV Park' and it's less than a mile.  People might live full time in an RV.  Or if not, there's houses nearby.

The people who live here could have a short 3 mile "in-state" commute, living and working in Oklahoma, but traveling through two other states to get to work at the casino.

It looks like there's a way through a private lot to the casino parking lot in Kansas.  That would still involve two state line crossings.  By public roads it would be four.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.998143,-94.6399631,469m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

[jeffandnicole]

When I worked in northern Delaware, it was much faster for me to go NJ-PA-DE across the Commodore Barry than NJ-DE across the Delaware Memorial.

I would imagine there may be a few people that would take themselves from NJ or PA thru DE to the Baltimore area.  This commute can be around 90 minutes or less.

There are plenty of commuters who live in PA (Poconos and Lehigh Valley) and commute to NYC, going through New Jersey to get there.

Bucks County thru NJ to NYC is also a relatively common commute, especially for those that catch the NJ Transit NEC trains in Hamilton off of 295.

Can anyone beat 40 miles for a 4 state commute, or 160 miles for a 5 state commute?

Logan Twp NJ to Elkton MD via 322 West to 95 & 495 South can be done under 35 miles if work and home are right off the highways.

Nobody would do this but NJ to Harpers Ferry WV is also less than 160 miles (NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV)

I took a day trip there once doing this exact route.

[I-55]

Emerson, MB to Hallock, MN. 26 miles, passes through the Pembina customs station in ND. Hallock has an oil company which likely employs at least someone from out of town. This example wouldn't exist if the US-75 border station at Noyes was still in operation.

[webny99]

Can anyone beat 40 miles for a 4 state commute, or 160 miles for a 5 state commute?

Logan Twp NJ to Elkton MD via 322 West to 95 & 495 South can be done under 35 miles if work and home are right off the highways.

I suppose it depends on the exact start and endpoints, but Google seems to generally recommend the Del. Mem. Bridge, missing PA.

[Brandon]

Commutes from the SW corner of Michigan to Chicago are not uncommon.

I actually came across a lady who did exactly that, 3 times a week, from Sawyer to Chicago, managing a condominium association in Streeterville.
Approximate commute: https://goo.gl/maps/HTTCqq22yMiepdHr9

[frankenroad]

That got me thinking: what situations are there where people's commutes might take them across two different state lines, which would mean driving through three states every day on their way to and from work? I can come up with a few examples, such as people who:

• Live in southern Maine and work somewhere in on the Massachusetts North Shore (or vice versa), going through New Hampshire
• Live in Southaven, MS and work in West Memphis, AR (or vice versa), going through Memphis, TN
• Live in southeast Indiana and work in northern Kentucky (or vice versa), going through Cincinnati, OH
• Live in Fairfield County, CT, and work somewhere in New Jersey (or vice versa), going through Westchester or through NYC
• Live in one of the inner-ring DC suburbs in Maryland [Suitland, Oxon Hill, Hyattsville, District Heights, etc.] and work in Arlington or Alexandria, VA (or vice versa), going through DC
• Live in Elkton, MD and work in Chester, PA (or vice versa), going through Delaware

Any other examples?

Don't know any any other specific ones, but I can confirm/elaborate on a couple you mentioned.

I had a co-worker when I worked in Massachusetts who commuted from Maine every day.  He lived in Kittery, which is the closest Maine city to Mass.

I worked for a large Federal Agency in the Maryland suburbs of DC, and we always heard that we had commuters from 6 states plus DC.  Depending on where in W Va they lived, they might come through Virginia, and the ones from New Jersey had to commute either through Pennsylvania or Delaware.   Many of these people participated in van pools.

In the Cincinnati area, many people who live in Ohio commute to Kentucky by way of Indiana, and vice-versa.   Most Indiana people commute directly to Ohio or Kentucky as needed, unless they work in Cincinnati's far east/southeast Ohio suburbs, then they would probably commute via Kentucky.  If someone from Batesville IN were to commute to Ky, they would probably take 74 into Ohio, then 275 back into Indiana, and then into Kentucky, so three border crossings, but only three unique states.