Telecommuting on the rise, but Houston lags behind
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- One way to avoid traffic is to telecommute or stay home and work from your house. It turns out not a lot of people in Houston actually have that option.
A recent study found the average commute in Houston is 51 minutes.
In the last decade or so, there's been a huge uptick in the number of people who telecommute around the country.
An estimated 3.9 million American workers work from home at least half of the time.
That's more than double 1.8 million telecommuters in 2005.
Right now, fewer than one out of 10 American companies offer workers the chance to telecommute, and that may be one of the reasons Houston ranks among the biggest cities with the fewest amount of telecommuters.
About 2.4 percent of Houston workers telecommute. That's about two out of every 100 people.
Telecommuting is most common among workers 35 years and older.
In fact, the average age of a telecommuter is 46.
It's important to know that if you do telecommute you can write off your home office on your income taxes.
RELATED: Here's what you need to know about home office deductions
