The flow of peak drive-time commutes in the Dallas area has taken a sharp turn according to a new report by commercial real estate firm JLL.

Less than a decade ago, the bulk of morning and evening traffic in Dallas was on one side of the major freeways leading from the suburbs to jobs in the city. While commuters wove in and out of traffic to arrive at work on time, they couldn’t help but envy the meager stream of vehicles on the opposite side of the thoroughfare. But those days are over. Today, there’s an even balance of traffic on both sides of most freeways. As suburbanites inch their way to Dallas offices, a new breed of city dwellers is making its way to employment centers in the suburbs—hence the term reverse commutes.

After analyzing reverse commuting in the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas, JLL rated Dallas at No. 4 on its report. New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago captured the three top spots, and Houston followed at No. 5.

The study found that over 4.8 million people reverse commute in major U.S. markets, which is nearly a 12 percent increase. In the Dallas metro area, the rapid rise in reverse commutes can be attributed to the old-fashioned domino effect.

Reversals Trigger Reversals

Plano, Texas photo courtesy of Danny20111993

Reverse commutes are prompted by two other reversal factors: the employment boom in the burbs—particularly in Plano, Richardson, Frisco, and Irving—and millennial professionals who are opting to live in Dallas’ urban neighborhoods.

From 2010 to 2015, reverse commutes spiked almost 13 percent, particularly in the northern sector, according to the JLL report. Sprawling suburban campuses created by Toyota North America headquarters, State Farm Insurance, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and TD Ameritrade have also upped reverse commutes significantly.

Forbes recently ranked Dallas-Plano-Irving at No. 1 on its 2018 Best Cities for Jobs list. Between a 19.6 percent job growth over the past six years and a significant population increase, the area is a hot spot for corporate relocations and an educated workforce. According to the JLL report, the educated population has grown nearly 30 percent in major cities throughout the U.S. 

This rise of reverse commuting in Dallas can also be attributed to millennials’ attraction to the trendy, urban lifestyle. Though Legacy West in Plano, CityLine in Richardson, Las Colinas in Irving, and other suburban mixed-use developments have tried to recreate the urban vibe in their community models, about half of Dallas’ highly educated professionals opt to commute to the suburbs rather than live there.

“The market is so competitive these days and [companies] are looking for ways to kind of meet their employees' needs and part of that is close-in locations,” Walter Bialas, JLL’s director of research for Dallas, told the Dallas Morning News. “You have seen that with AT&T recommitting to their Downtown Dallas location.”

The Takeaway

Aerial view of Dallas Freeways photo by Shutterstock

Aside from progress, reverse commutes are a sign of balance. Because traffic on both sides of freeways is now more balanced, reverse commutes lessen the strain on transportation systems in North Texas. Since large corporate campuses and multi-campus clusters require a huge land mass, suburbs are the heir apparent to future large-scale projects, which will balance economic development and job growth throughout the metro area rather than just in Dallas.

"Being a transplant to Dallas and having seen cities around the country, traffic really isn't that bad here," Bialas told the News. "It's getting worse because of all the growth we are seeing. We do have this counter commuting going on and that's a good thing."

Though reverse commuters use the North Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75) and the Dallas North Tollway most often, a balanced flow of traffic on Interstate 30 and Interstate 635 also indicates the growing job opportunities in Rockwall, Garland, and Mesquite.