Drive Alone to Work - Women in New Mexico
New Mexico
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New Mexico Value:
69.3%
Percentage of female workers ages 16 and older who drive alone to work
New Mexico Rank:
26
Drive Alone to Work - Women in depth:
Additional Measures:
Appears In:
Drive Alone to Work - Women by State
Percentage of female workers ages 16 and older who drive alone to work
Drive Alone to Work - Women: Female
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2021
About Drive Alone to Work - Women
US Value: 66.9%
Top State(s): New York: 46.2%
Bottom State(s): Mississippi: 81.5%
Definition: Percentage of female workers ages 16 and older who drive alone to work
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2022
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Commuting is a necessity for many people, and driving alone is by far the most common mode of transportation to work. There are environmental and individual health concerns associated with daily driving: Motor vehicles contribute to air pollution, noise pollution, and in many cases, transportation congestion. Congestion, a common occurrence in large cities, creates concentrated areas of air and noise pollution, which disproportionately affect those of lower socioeconomic status. Long commutes can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, obesity and physical inactivity.
According to the American Driving Survey, populations that spend more time driving include:
- Married couples or cohabitating partners compared with single adults.
- Adults living in the Midwest compared with those living in other regions.
- Adults living in non-metropolitan areas compared with those living in metropolitan areas. Recent shifts from driving to biking or using public transit are still largely confined to cities.
Strategies to promote modes of transportation other than driving, particularly driving alone, include:
- Building pedestrian- and cycling-friendly infrastructure.
- Increasing access to public transportation.
- Encouraging local health departments and health care providers to raise awareness of the health issues associated with driving alone.
- Expanding telecommuting and flexible/remote work options for employees wherever possible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic-related air pollution plummeted and remained well below normal rates in many parts of the country, likely due at least in part to the increased prevalence of remote work arrangements.
Healthy People 2030 has an objective to increase the percentage of trips to work made by mass transit.
Giles-Corti, Billie, Anne Vernez-Moudon, Rodrigo Reis, Gavin Turrell, Andrew L. Dannenberg, Hannah Badland, Sarah Foster, et al. 2016. “City Planning and Population Health: A Global Challenge.” The Lancet 388 (10062): 2912–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30066-6.
Henning-Smith, Carrie, Katy Kozhimannil, and Alex Evenson. 2018. “Addressing Commuting as a Public Health Issue: Strategies Should Differ by Rurality.” Policy Brief. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. https://rhrc.umn.edu/publication/addressing-commuting-as-a-public-health-issue-strategies-should-differ-by-rurality/.
Hoehner, Christine M., Carolyn E. Barlow, Peg Allen, and Mario Schootman. 2012. “Commuting Distance, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Metabolic Risk.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 42 (6): 571–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.02.020.
Kondragunta, Shobha, Zigang Wei, B. C. McDonald, Daniel L. Goldberg, and D. Q. Tong. 2021. “COVID-19 Induced Fingerprints of a New Normal Urban Air Quality in the United States.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 126 (17): e2021JD034797. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034797.
Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J. 2016. “Urban and Transport Planning, Environmental Exposures and Health-New Concepts, Methods and Tools to Improve Health in Cities.” Environmental Health 15 (December): S38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0108-1.
Tefft, Brian C. 2022. “American Driving Survey: 2020–2021.” Research Brief. Washington, D.C.: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAAFTS_Research-Brief_2022-American-Driving-Survey2020-2021.pdf.
van Schalkwyk, M. C. I., and J. S. Mindell. 2018. “Current Issues in the Impacts of Transport on Health.” British Medical Bulletin 125 (1): 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldx048.
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