Commuting in Bethel Census Area, Alaska: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 3:14 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Bethel Census Area?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:14 PM
Commute Time Burden in Bethel Census Area: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Bethel Census Area spend about 13 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 56 hours, about 2.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 58% less time on the road than the Alaska average of 16.1 minutes each way, a difference of 9.4 minutes.
Bethel Census Area holds about 2.5% of Alaska's population but accounts for roughly 1.0% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Bethel Census Area would save about 22 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $694 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Area
One-Way Commute
Daily Round-Trip
Yearly Time Spent
Estimated Yearly Cost
Local Road Traffic (VPD)
Bethel Census Area
6.7 min
13.4 min
56 hrs/yr
$1,734
109
Alaska
16.1 min
32.2 min
134 hrs/yr
$4,157
583
United States
22.4 min
44.8 min
187 hrs/yr
$5,790
1,355
The estimated yearly cost applies a single national rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area - treat it
as a rough estimate, not a paycheck figure. Local road traffic counts, vehicles per day
on non-highway roads, come from proprietary
Ticon and
TrafficZoom data.
On average, it takes
6.7
minutes to get to work in
Bethel Census Area.
That's 70% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:30 AM – 08:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by walking. About 7.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Bethel Census Area
Car:
34.3%unusually low
Walked:
30.4%unusually high
Other:
22.0%
Worked at Home:
7.1%
Taxi:
3.3%unusually high
Motorcycle:
2.2%unusually high
Bicycle:
0.4%
Public Transportation:
0.4%
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Bethel Census Area: 13.6 times more than the Alaska average (2.2% vs 0.2%).
Driving is 55% less common in Bethel Census Area than the Alaska average (34.3% vs 76.9%).
Walking is unusually common in Bethel Census Area: 4.2 times more than the Alaska average (30.4% vs 7.2%).
Taking a taxi is unusually common in Bethel Census Area: 6.9 times more than the Alaska average (3.3% vs 0.5%).
Bethel Census Area stands out for active commuting: 30.7% of workers walk or bike to work, 3.9 times the Alaska average of 7.9%.
Commute Mode Trends in Bethel Census Area, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Bethel Census Area get to work, as a share of all workers aged 16 and over, across 16 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) releases from 2009 to 2024. Each release is a 5-year estimate: the 2024 figures cover surveys taken from 2020 to 2024. Because neighboring releases share most of their survey years, the lines move gradually, and a sudden change such as the rise of remote work in 2020 spreads across several releases. Hover over or tap a line to highlight it, and use the legend to show or hide a mode. Driving starts hidden so the smaller modes stay readable.
Share of workers aged 16 and over, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.Show commute mode data by year
Year
Car
Walked
Other
Worked at Home
Taxi
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Bicycle
2009
38.6%
38.1%
13.1%
4.4%
4.8%
0.0%
0.1%
0.9%
2010
35.3%
37.0%
16.3%
5.0%
5.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.8%
2011
39.3%
32.1%
18.0%
5.0%
4.4%
0.0%
0.0%
1.1%
2012
38.1%
34.0%
18.2%
3.4%
5.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.9%
2013
38.2%
35.9%
16.9%
3.6%
4.2%
0.1%
0.1%
1.1%
2014
40.3%
33.0%
16.2%
3.9%
5.4%
0.1%
0.1%
1.1%
2015
39.2%
33.0%
16.8%
4.8%
5.2%
0.2%
0.5%
0.4%
2016
38.8%
31.8%
18.9%
4.4%
4.9%
0.2%
0.4%
0.5%
2017
38.5%
30.8%
20.6%
4.1%
4.5%
0.3%
0.6%
0.6%
2018
36.0%
30.6%
21.6%
5.3%
4.9%
0.3%
0.5%
0.8%
2019
35.6%
30.7%
23.7%
4.0%
4.4%
0.2%
0.6%
0.7%
2020
35.4%
33.7%
20.2%
5.0%
3.3%
1.5%
0.3%
0.6%
2021
33.2%
33.5%
20.7%
5.7%
4.4%
2.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2022
30.4%
34.9%
23.3%
6.3%
3.1%
1.7%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
29.5%
32.4%
25.1%
6.4%
4.1%
1.7%
0.4%
0.4%
2024
34.3%
30.4%
22.0%
7.1%
3.3%
2.2%
0.4%
0.4%
Driving's share was highest in 2014 at 40.3% and lowest in 2023 at 29.5%. Overall it fell from 38.6% in 2009 to 34.3% in 2024, down 4.3 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Bethel Census Area: its share of workers rose from 4.4% in 2009 to 7.1% in 2024, up 2.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 38.1% to 30.4% of workers (down 7.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook taking a taxi to become the 4th most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Driving is the most common way to get to work in 2024, as it was in 2009, though it did not lead in every release in between.
Commute Start Times in Bethel Census Area
🦉Night OwlThe 2nd-latest start among Alaska's 30 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 8:20 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Bethel Census Area?
The bars show when commuters in Bethel Census Area leave home for work, as a share of everyone who commutes (people who work from home are not counted), from the 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. The thin violet marks show Alaska for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMBethel Census Area2.1%Alaska4.8%
2.1%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMBethel Census Area0.1%Alaska3.6%
0.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMBethel Census Area1.3%Alaska5.6%
1.3%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMBethel Census Area1.1%Alaska7.2%
1.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMBethel Census Area5.1%Alaska8.6%
5.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMBethel Census Area5.4%Alaska12.9%
5.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMBethel Census Area25.8%Alaska17.1%
25.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMBethel Census Area13.9%Alaska10.7%
13.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMBethel Census Area18.6%Alaska6.3%
18.6%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMBethel Census Area13.8%Alaska7.1%
13.8%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMBethel Census Area2.7%Alaska3.4%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMBethel Census Area2.0%Alaska1.7%
2.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMBethel Census Area4.7%Alaska5.6%
4.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMBethel Census Area3.5%Alaska5.3%
3.5%
Bethel Census AreaAlaskaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Bethel Census Area is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 25.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 17.1% across Alaska. Early starts are less common than in Alaska: 3.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.0% there. The morning rush looks much like Alaska's: 50.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.3% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.7%) leave at 9 AM or later, which usually points to shift work, flexible hours or part-time jobs.
When people leave matters as much as how far they go. Rush-hour traffic shrinks how much ground a 20-minute trip covers, so a trade area drawn as a simple circle often takes in neighborhoods that customers or staff would never drive from and misses others that are an easy trip. A drive-time zone, also called an isochrone, outlines every place within a set number of minutes of an address, which makes it the more honest way to size a store's catchment, a hiring area or the commute from a new home.
See it for yourself on the interactive map: click any spot in Bethel Census Area, pick a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive and see the local demographics of the people who live within that exact drive time.
Is Bethel Census Area Waking Up Earlier? Typical Departure Time, 2009-2024
Each line follows the typical (median) departure time: the moment by which half of commuters have already left home. Higher on the chart means a later start. Setting Bethel Census Area next to Alaska and the U.S. shows whether local mornings are drifting earlier or later than everyone else's. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.
Median time commuters leave home, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.Show typical departure times by year
Year
Bethel Census Area
Alaska
United States
2009
8:29 AM
7:47 AM
7:37 AM
2010
8:29 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
8:27 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2012
8:27 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2013
8:27 AM
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
2014
8:21 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
8:20 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2016
8:23 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
8:20 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2018
8:19 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
8:18 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2020
8:13 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2021
8:13 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2022
8:13 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
8:21 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
8:20 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Bethel Census Area were on the road by 8:20 AM, 9 minutes earlier than in 2009 (8:29 AM). The shift is sharper than across Alaska, where the typical start moved 4 minutes earlier. Commuters in Bethel Census Area now leave 42 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Bethel Census Area has moved 2 minutes later.
How does Bethel Census Area's commute time compare?
Metric
Bethel Census Area
Alaska
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
6.7 min
16.1 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
08:30 AM – 08:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
7.1%
9.7%
15.0%
Walked
30.4%
7.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
1.0%
3.2%
The average commute time in Bethel Census Area is 6.7 minutes, shorter than the 16.1 minutes in Alaska.
0.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.0% in Alaska. 30.4% commute by walking, higher than the 7.2% in Alaska.
Bethel Census Area, AK Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Bethel Census Area, AK is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 18,392 residents against a local median of 4,728. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest counties, which makes Bethel Census Area, AK an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.
The largest of those small differences is one-way commute, 12% below the local median at 6.7 min against 7.6 min. Bethel Census Area, AK has the 3rd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Bethel Census Area, Alaska.
Is commuting expensive in Bethel Census Area, Alaska?
Commuters here spend an estimated 56 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $1,734 at a typical national wage. That's 58% less than the typical Alaska commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Bethel Census Area, Alaska?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Bethel Census Area, Alaska. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:30 AM – 08:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Which counties in Alaska have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Alaska, the shortest average commutes are in Skagway Municipality (4.7 min), Northwest Arctic Borough (5.5 min), Nome Census Area (5.8 min). The longest are in Matanuska-Susitna Borough (25.3 min), Fairbanks North Star Borough (17.2 min), Anchorage Municipality (17.1 min).