The Journey to Work of Rural Industrial Employees

In previous research on the journey to work several variables have consistently emerged as correlates of distance commuted. Unfortunately, virtually all previous analyses have been confined to metropolitan areas. Thus, there is a question of the generalizability of these findings to less urbanized regions. The present research examines the commuting patterns of 959 white male employees of a large manufacturing facility in rural Illinois. Hypotheses regarding the impact of (1) SES, (2) age, and (3) length of employment upon distance between place of residence and place of work are tested by least-squares analysis. The results indicate no support for any of the hypotheses derived from the model of metropolitan commuting. Further, the composite effect of the independent variables accounts for only one percent of the variation in distance traveled to work. These findings strongly indicate that the model of metropolitan commuting is not applicable to nonmetropolitan regions.