Commuting in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:14 PM
How much time do drivers in Fairbanks North Star Borough spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:14 PM
Commute Time Burden in Fairbanks North Star Borough: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Fairbanks North Star Borough spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 144 hours, about 6.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 7% more time on the road than the Alaska average of 16.1 minutes each way, a difference of 1.1 minutes.
Fairbanks North Star Borough holds about 13.0% of Alaska's population but accounts for roughly 13.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Fairbanks North Star Borough would save about 57 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,780 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)
Fairbanks North Star Borough
17.2 min
34.5 min
144 hrs/yr
$4,451
556
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
17.2
minutes to get to work in
Fairbanks North Star Borough.
That's 23% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the 3 slowest counties in Alaska
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 6.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Fairbanks North Star Borough
Car:
83.9%
Worked at Home:
6.6%
Walked:
5.7%
Other:
1.6%
Bicycle:
1.4%
Public Transportation:
0.7%
Taxi:
0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Fairbanks North Star Borough: 3.5 times less than the Alaska average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Commute Mode Trends in Fairbanks North Star Borough, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Fairbanks North Star Borough 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
Worked at Home
Walked
Other
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
85.6%
6.6%
4.3%
0.9%
0.9%
1.1%
0.2%
0.4%
2010
86.4%
6.3%
3.4%
1.0%
1.1%
1.1%
0.1%
0.5%
2011
86.4%
5.7%
3.4%
1.4%
1.1%
1.5%
0.0%
0.5%
2012
86.4%
5.7%
2.9%
1.7%
1.1%
1.5%
0.1%
0.6%
2013
86.7%
4.8%
3.6%
1.5%
1.2%
1.6%
0.1%
0.5%
2014
88.0%
4.1%
3.3%
1.6%
1.1%
1.4%
0.1%
0.4%
2015
88.3%
3.4%
3.6%
1.5%
1.3%
1.5%
0.1%
0.4%
2016
89.1%
3.1%
3.8%
1.2%
1.2%
1.1%
0.1%
0.4%
2017
89.8%
2.7%
4.1%
1.2%
1.0%
0.9%
0.2%
0.2%
2018
89.8%
3.3%
3.3%
1.3%
1.0%
1.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2019
89.3%
3.7%
3.5%
1.4%
0.9%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
2020
88.2%
5.0%
3.9%
1.3%
0.6%
0.8%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
87.0%
6.0%
4.0%
1.3%
0.7%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
85.7%
6.1%
5.0%
1.3%
0.8%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
84.9%
6.4%
5.5%
1.4%
0.8%
0.9%
0.0%
0.1%
2024
83.9%
6.6%
5.7%
1.6%
1.4%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2017 at 89.8%. Overall it fell from 85.6% in 2009 to 83.9% in 2024, down 1.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Walking gained the most ground in Fairbanks North Star Borough: its share of workers rose from 4.3% in 2009 to 5.7% in 2024, up 1.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.2 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Biking overtook public transit to become the 5th most common choice in the 2024 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Fairbanks North Star Borough
🐦Early BirdThe 3rd-earliest start among Alaska's 30 counties: half of commuters are on the road by 7:31 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Fairbanks North Star Borough?
The bars show when commuters in Fairbanks North Star Borough 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 AMFairbanks North Star Borough4.5%Alaska4.8%
4.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMFairbanks North Star Borough4.1%Alaska3.6%
4.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough8.8%Alaska5.6%
8.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMFairbanks North Star Borough9.4%Alaska7.2%
9.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough9.2%Alaska8.6%
9.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMFairbanks North Star Borough13.4%Alaska12.9%
13.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough14.7%Alaska17.1%
14.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMFairbanks North Star Borough8.3%Alaska10.7%
8.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough5.9%Alaska6.3%
5.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough6.1%Alaska7.1%
6.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough3.6%Alaska3.4%
3.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMFairbanks North Star Borough1.5%Alaska1.7%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMFairbanks North Star Borough5.4%Alaska5.6%
5.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMFairbanks North Star Borough4.8%Alaska5.3%
4.8%
Fairbanks North Star BoroughAlaskaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Fairbanks North Star Borough is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 14.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 17.1% across Alaska. Early starts are more common than in Alaska: 17.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.0% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Alaska: 45.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.3% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.5%) 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 Fairbanks North Star Borough, 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 Fairbanks North Star Borough 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 Fairbanks North Star Borough 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
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Alaska
United States
2009
7:38 AM
7:47 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:34 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:36 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:38 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:38 AM
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:34 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:36 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:35 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:32 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:33 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:36 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:35 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:36 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:37 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:33 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:31 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Fairbanks North Star Borough were on the road by 7:31 AM, 7 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:38 AM). The shift is sharper than across Alaska, where the typical start moved 4 minutes earlier. Commuters in Fairbanks North Star Borough now leave 7 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Fairbanks North Star Borough has moved 5 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Fairbanks North Star Borough in the whole series.
How does Fairbanks North Star Borough's commute time compare?
Metric
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Alaska
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.2 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
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
6.6%
9.7%
15.0%
Walked
5.7%
7.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.7%
1.0%
3.2%
The average commute time in Fairbanks North Star Borough is 17.2 minutes, longer than the 16.1 minutes in Alaska.
0.7% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.0% in Alaska. 5.7% commute by walking, lower than the 7.2% in Alaska.
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 95,452 residents against a local median of 6,866. Where Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 31% above the local median of 13.2 min at 17.2 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 6.6% against a local median of 9.4%, 30% below it. The counties themselves spread 17.5 min on one-way commute, so Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK has the 5th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska.
Is commuting expensive in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska?
Commuters here spend an estimated 144 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,451 at a typical national wage. That's 7% more than the typical Alaska commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Alaska?
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).