Is the commute in Birmingham longer than the national average?
Map AI8/20/26, 4:01 PM
Commute Time Burden in Birmingham: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Birmingham spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 172 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting.
That is 6% less time on the road than the Alabama average of 22.0 minutes each way, a difference of 1.4 minutes.
Birmingham holds about 4.2% of Alabama's population but accounts for roughly 3.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Birmingham would save about 69 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,131 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)
Birmingham
20.6 min
41.2 min
172 hrs/yr
$5,328
2,854
Alabama
22.0 min
44.1 min
184 hrs/yr
$5,691
1,193
United States
22.5 min
44.9 min
187 hrs/yr
$5,803
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.
Birmingham Commute Map
On average, it takes
20.6
minutes to get to work in
Birmingham.
That's 8% shorter than the 22.5-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
,
followed by
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
.
Most people travel to work by
Car
, followed by
Worked at Home
.
About 9.0%
work from home.
Commute mode distribution
Car:
84.1%
Worked at Home:
9.0%
Walked:
3.3%
Other:
1.8%
Public Transportation:
1.2%unusually high
Bicycle:
0.4%unusually high
Taxi:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public Transportation commuting is unusually common in Birmingham: 3.9 times more than the Alabama average (1.2% vs 0.3%).
Bicycle commuting is unusually common in Birmingham: 4.2 times more than the Alabama average (0.4% vs 0.1%).
How does Birmingham's commute time compare?
Metric
Birmingham
Alabama
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
20.6 min
22.0 min
22.5 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
9.0%
7.8%
13.4%
Walked
3.3%
1.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.2%
0.3%
3.5%
The average commute time in Birmingham is 20.6 minutes, shorter than the 22.0 minutes in Alabama.
1.2% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.3% in Alabama. 3.3% commute by walking, higher than the 1.1% in Alabama.
Common questions about commuting in Birmingham, Alabama.
Is commuting expensive in Birmingham, Alabama?
Commuters here spend an estimated 172 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,328 at a typical national wage. That's 6% less than the typical Alabama commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Birmingham, Alabama?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Birmingham, Alabama. 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 common is public transit use in Birmingham, Alabama?
Public transit usage is notably higher here than typical: about 1.2% of commuters use it versus 0.3% in Alabama, making it a realistic option for many workers.