Students traveling home this week will have to share the roads, trains and planes with more than 1 million Michigan residents, according to statistics from AAA.

About 90 percent of Michigan residents will be traveling more than 50 miles this week, said Ryan Johnson, field manager for the Jackson and Lansing offices of AAA.

Of MSU’s 47,954 students this fall, 76 percent are Michigan residents, according to statistics from the Office of the Registrar.

Of traveling Michigan residents, 90 percent will be driving, and traffic most likely will peak today and Sunday, he said.

“There’s no doubt the holiday travel period has increased traffic all over roads and all highways,” he said.

Although it is difficult to predict which areas will be most congested, travelers should allot extra time to compensate for the additional traffic, Johnson said.

For criminal justice junior Beth Aselage, driving home isn’t an option — her home is hundreds of miles away in California.

Along with 8 percent of Michigan residents who will be flying to visit relatives this holiday, she’s catching a plane tomorrow to be with her family.

Based on information from a U.S. Department of Education survey, most 2010 freshmen out-of-state students hailed from Illinois, Ohio, Texas and New York.

About 11 percent of MSU students are from other states, according to statistics from the Office of the Registrar.

Air travel has increased about 4 percent this year, according to AAA statistics.

“A lot of people are traveling because they haven’t been able to in recent years because of the recent economy,” Johnson said.

Although Aselage doesn’t usually visit home on weekends because of time and money constraints, she makes an exception for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

“It takes a full two days away from your trip — a day getting there and a day getting back,” she said. “Usually, people here can go 20 minutes home and have the rest of the day. I don’t get that.”

Following airport regulations, such as arriving early and not lingering at the drop-off zones might help eliminate back-ups at the airports, Detroit Metropolitan Airport communications director Michael Conway said.

Trains also will be busy this week, Amtrak media relations manager Marc Magliari said. All but two train tickets for a trip from Lansing to Chicago today were sold as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, he said.

Despite the time and money, being with her family during the holidays is worth traveling across the country for Aselage, she said.

“I rarely see my family,” she said. “I feel like during the holidays, it’s most important to see your family, so it’s worth it.”