Commuting in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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How long is the round-trip commute in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:12 PM
Commute Time Burden in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area spend about 26 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 110 hours, about 4.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 18% less time on the road than the Alaska average of 16.1 minutes each way, a difference of 2.9 minutes.
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area holds about 1.0% of Alaska's population but accounts for roughly 0.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area would save about 44 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,363 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)
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
13.2 min
26.4 min
110 hrs/yr
$3,409
52
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
13.2
minutes to get to work in
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area.
That's 41% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 79% of counties in Alaska
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 13.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
Car:
71.6%
Worked at Home:
13.0%
Walked:
11.5%
Other:
2.8%
Bicycle:
0.6%
Public Transportation:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, versus 0.2% in Alaska.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, versus 0.5% in Alaska.
Commute Mode Trends in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Southeast Fairbanks 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
Worked at Home
Walked
Other
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
81.0%
7.9%
6.7%
2.6%
0.8%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
81.7%
8.0%
6.6%
2.3%
0.4%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
76.6%
14.5%
5.8%
2.1%
0.6%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
75.1%
13.5%
8.5%
2.1%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
72.0%
10.3%
16.5%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
70.2%
12.6%
16.2%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2015
69.3%
15.1%
14.5%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
70.9%
12.0%
15.5%
1.0%
0.0%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
75.6%
10.7%
12.4%
0.6%
0.0%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
79.1%
13.5%
5.9%
1.1%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
80.8%
10.1%
6.4%
2.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2020
77.9%
10.5%
8.1%
2.8%
0.0%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
2021
78.2%
10.4%
8.1%
2.9%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
75.3%
9.3%
10.3%
4.5%
0.1%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
74.6%
8.4%
11.7%
4.4%
0.5%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
71.6%
13.0%
11.5%
2.8%
0.6%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2010 at 81.7% and lowest in 2015 at 69.3%. Overall it fell from 81.0% in 2009 to 71.6% in 2024, down 9.4 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 3 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: its share of workers rose from 7.9% in 2009 to 13.0% in 2024, up 5.1 percentage points.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.0% to 0.4% of workers (down 0.6 percentage points).
Walking peaked at 16.5% in 2013 and has since fallen back to 11.5%.
Commute Start Times in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area?
The bars show when commuters in Southeast Fairbanks 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 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area7.9%Alaska4.8%
7.9%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area5.3%Alaska3.6%
5.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area5.5%Alaska5.6%
5.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area7.8%Alaska7.2%
7.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area11.7%Alaska8.6%
11.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area9.2%Alaska12.9%
9.2%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area18.9%Alaska17.1%
18.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area11.8%Alaska10.7%
11.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area3.7%Alaska6.3%
3.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area4.7%Alaska7.1%
4.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area4.3%Alaska3.4%
4.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area1.9%Alaska1.7%
1.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area3.3%Alaska5.6%
3.3%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area4.3%Alaska5.3%
4.3%
Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaAlaskaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 17.1% across Alaska. Early starts are more common than in Alaska: 18.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.0% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Alaska: 51.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.3% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (18.4%) 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 Southeast Fairbanks 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 Southeast Fairbanks 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 Southeast Fairbanks 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
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
Alaska
United States
2009
7:42 AM
7:47 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:36 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:42 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:37 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:39 AM
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:45 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:57 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:59 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:53 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:59 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:56 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:44 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:35 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:36 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:30 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:34 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area were on the road by 7:34 AM, 8 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:42 AM). The shift is sharper than across Alaska, where the typical start moved 4 minutes earlier. Commuters in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area now leave 4 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 Southeast Fairbanks Census Area has moved 22 minutes earlier.
How does Southeast Fairbanks Census Area's commute time compare?
Metric
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
Alaska
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
13.2 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
13.0%
9.7%
15.0%
Walked
11.5%
7.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
1.0%
3.2%
The average commute time in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is 13.2 minutes, shorter than the 16.1 minutes in Alaska.
0.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.0% in Alaska. 11.5% commute by walking, higher than the 7.2% in Alaska.
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK is typical in size for this group, 7,068 residents against a local median of 6,866, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 70% above the local median of 7.6% at 13.0%.
The counties themselves spread 7.5% on work from home, so Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska?
Commuters here spend an estimated 110 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,409 at a typical national wage. That's 18% less than the typical Alaska commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
How much time do residents in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska save by working from home?
About 13.0% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area would save about 44 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,363 at the same national wage assumption used above.
How do commute times compare across 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).