Why commute a long distance and spend lots of time in a car or on a bus or train and money on gasoline or public transportation tickets when work can be done from a home office desk a few steps away? 

For years, employees did what was needed to get to their offices and the best jobs they could find. At the same time, they purchased housing farther away due to rising home sales prices. The result was an increase in "super commuters" who might take 90 minutes or more—and each way daily, going from 3.2 million in 2010 to 4.6 million in 2019. That represented a big uptick of 45%.

But the pandemic caused a big change as work shifted from corporate offices to homes and other close locations. The number of super commuters dropped to 3.1 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's "American Community Survey" and to Apartment List, which compiled and analyzed results. The drop off is most visible San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville and Kansas City. The San Jose metro area saw the nation's biggest increase in remote work with numbers climbing by 582% in that time.