>>1967811>Fascinating, now compare American cities to their European and Asian peers.Define peer.
>without using the rural midwest to bring down the national averageIt's not just farmers, though. Let's say you work at the IRS in downtown Kansas City. Google estimates anything less than about 4 miles away is a <12 minute drive (which means <25 minutes daily to and fro, right at the US average). A lot of the blacks living right in KC proper probably have government jobs at the IRS so this is no cherry-pick. And even the longer commutes from people out in the suburbs are likely to be 15 minutes or less. You will find this pattern in every lowish-density midwestern city-- LOTS of people able to commute by car very short distances, with the long-distance commuters rarely bothered by congestion and so easily able to cover 15 miles in 20 minutes or so.
