We are more satisfied with our commutes this year
The Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded on Ipsos' Omnibus platform, asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.
Why we asked about commutes: This is a question we’ve asked at this time as a mid-year gauge, but also just seemed another good angle to look at as a temperature-check on consumers.
What we found: For the most part, we are still highly satisfied with… most things. As with 2025, at least three in four are satisfied with their homes, their jobs, their bosses, their employer, their family life, their car, their kitchen and life in general. Fewer, but still a majority, are satisfied with their incomes.
The one odd outlier is a 15-point jump in those who say they are satisfied with their commutes – from 65% last year to 80% this year. The question there, is why. When asked in a separate question where people would like to work, about half say mostly or entirely in an office and about a quarter say mostly or entirely at home, with the balance being people who would like their time evenly split. That’s all consistent from the start of 2025 when we last asked. If anything, there’s a slight shift toward home (up three points) from office (down 6 points).
That’s also relatively in line with how people are actually working, but the places that are inconsistent would lend themselves to being less satisfied with commutes, in theory. More than one in ten say they are, and say that ideally they would be only at home. But twice as many people say they are working entirely onsite (61%) than want to be (32%). About half are working hybrid today, neatly divided among “mostly at home,” “mostly at the office” and “evenly split.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, commute times have been going up.
So maybe we just have all found podcasts we really like? Feel free to send theories to [email protected]
More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:
AI has a PR problem with Americans
Americans want banks to do more to prevent scams
The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?
