I had a choice of over 20 high schools in my area, some within 5 minutes from my home, some 45 minutes. This upper limit was imposed by my parents, who weren't

I had a choice of over 20 high schools in my area, some within 5 minutes from my home, some 45 minutes. This upper limit was imposed by my parents, who weren't comfortable having me travelling for longer at that age. I had a shortlist of four, and was able to pre-attend classes at three of them. I ended up choosing one at 35 minutes from my home. I think the classmate with the highest commute time had to travel a little over an hour. Most years, I think our class had one or two additions that did their previous year (or the same year) at a different school, and I remember two or three classmates changing to another school. I'm not sure how universal your observation is, but then again, I've never lived in the US.