Where Are People Using Public Transit?

The five U.S. counties with the highest percentage of workers taking public transit to their jobs are in the New York City area, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, with the Bronx and Brooklyn tied at 57.9 percent. Boston's Suffolk County, Mass., comes in at a highly respectable #8, with 29.4% of employed residents using public transportation to get to work, just a shade behind San Francisco County.

Middlesex County, Mass., comes in at #25, with 10.5% public transit usage - a decent figure considering so many people here work in places where public transportation is either unavailable or painfully inadequate.

When measured strictly by city, New York is far and away the leader, and the only American city where more than half -- 53% - use public transportation to get to work. Washington, D.C. at #2 is well behind, with one-third of its residents using the transit system. Boston is third, at 31.8%.