Kohima: Nagaland students travel less to school than any other students in India. Only 46.7 percent of local students travel at least one kilometer to class, well under the 66.4 percent national average. Yet, the price for this education commute is high.
Students in Nagaland pay an average of 864 rupees per month for travel. This sits far above the national average of 570 rupees. Rural students suffer the most. Their monthly travel bills hit 919 rupees, the highest rate for rural pupils across the country. The national rural average is only 361 rupees. Urban costs also climb to 804 rupees, topping the 617 rupee national urban mark.
Walking is the primary way students get to school, accounting for 52.8 percent of trips. Buses carry 23.4 percent of these students, while 14.8 percent use cars. Two-wheelers remain rare at 1.6 percent, the lowest share nationally. On average, students reach school in 23 minutes. A total of 85.8 percent make the trip in under half an hour.
Workplace travel tells a different story. Nearly 72 percent of workers walk to their jobs, the highest proportion in the country. For the rest, the car is king. Nagaland workers take an average of 37 minutes to reach their jobs, "the longest average travel time among States and UTs." Only 45.3 percent of workers get to work within 30 minutes, with nearly half spending up to an hour in transit.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released these figures in the first-ever National Household Travel Survey. Conducted between July 2025 and June 2026, the study sampled 4,009 households across Nagaland. While school travel drains student budgets, worker commute costs in the state remain low. Workers spend an average of 541 rupees per month, significantly under the national average of 785 rupees.
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