What does inching along in rush-hour traffic cost you? Chicago in top 10 of most expensive commutes

Traffic at Randall Road at Bowes Road in Elgin. Gridlock adds up for suburban commuters, an analysis finds. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Stewing in gridlock not only takes a toll on your sanity, it also picks your pocket for more than gas, a national analysis concludes.

American worker bees lose about $9,470 a year driving to work and back home, according to a LendingTree report. That’s based on an average commuting time of nearly 54 minutes daily. In Chicago and the suburbs, the numbers are even higher.

Researchers used U.S. Census data to compare wages and travel length in 100 metro areas, then multiplied hourly pay by commute time.

“We’re putting a value to the amount of time you spend commuting,” LendingTree expert Rob Bhatt said.

Bridgeport, Connecticut, has the costliest tr