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Clay County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Clay County, Alabama: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 7:53 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Clay County?
Map AI 9/24/26, 7:53 PM

Commute Time Burden in Clay County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Clay County spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 190 hours, about 7.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 3% more time on the road than the Alabama average of 22.1 minutes each way, a difference of 0.7 minutes.

Clay County holds about 0.3% of Alabama's population and accounts for roughly 0.3% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Clay County would save about 76 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,355 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)
Clay County 22.8 min 45.6 min 190 hrs/yr $5,888 650
Alabama 22.1 min 44.3 min 184 hrs/yr $5,717 1,193
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.

Commute Time Map: Alabama Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in Alabama
  1. Pike County (16.4 min)
  2. Houston County (18.3 min)
  3. Escambia County (18.5 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in Alabama
  1. Blount County (33.2 min)
  2. Pickens County (32.5 min)
  3. Lowndes County (31.9 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Clay County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 22.8 minutes to get to work in Clay County. That's 2% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM, followed by 05:00 AM – 05:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 5.6% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Clay County

  • Car: 89.6%
  • Worked at Home: 5.6%
  • Other: 2.7%
  • Walked: 1.1%
  • Public Transportation: 0.9%
  • Motorcycle: 0.2%
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Clay County, versus 0.1% in Alabama.

Biking is essentially absent in Clay County, versus 0.1% in Alabama.

Commute Mode Trends in Clay County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Clay County 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 Other Walked Public Transportation Motorcycle Taxi Bicycle
2009 93.1% 4.9% 0.6% 1.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2010 93.7% 4.9% 0.3% 1.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2011 93.6% 4.5% 0.5% 1.0% 0.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2012 93.9% 4.0% 0.3% 1.2% 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2013 93.9% 3.6% 0.3% 1.6% 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2014 94.1% 2.5% 0.9% 1.6% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2015 94.7% 2.1% 0.9% 1.8% 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2016 96.0% 1.5% 0.5% 1.9% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2017 93.6% 3.0% 0.6% 2.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2018 95.4% 3.3% 0.6% 0.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2019 94.3% 4.4% 0.4% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2020 94.1% 4.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2021 91.3% 5.7% 2.3% 0.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2022 91.5% 4.9% 2.6% 0.7% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 89.9% 4.6% 3.9% 1.3% 0.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 89.6% 5.6% 2.7% 1.1% 0.9% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2016 at 96.0%. Overall it fell from 93.1% in 2009 to 89.6% in 2024, down 3.5 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.

Public transit gained the most ground in Clay County: its share of workers rose from 0.1% in 2009 to 0.9% in 2024, up 0.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 0.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Walking peaked at 2.8% in 2017 and has since fallen back to 1.1%.

Commute Start Times in Clay County

  • Early BirdThe earliest start among Alabama's 67 counties: half of commuters are on the road by 6:21 AM.
  • Dawn PatrolThe highest share of pre-6 AM departures among Alabama's 67 counties: 43.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM.
  • Rush-Hour DodgersThe 3rd-lowest share of rush-hour departures among Alabama's 67 counties: only 33.9% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Clay County?

The bars show when commuters in Clay County 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 Alabama for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.

12:00-4:59 AM
18.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
14.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
11.1%
6:00-6:29 AM
8.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
12.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
9.9%
7:30-7:59 AM
4.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
7.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
2.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
2.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
1.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
0.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
3.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
3.8%

Clay County Alabama Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Clay County is 12:00-4:59 AM, when 18.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 6.8% across Alabama. Early starts are more common than in Alabama: 43.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.9% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Alabama: 33.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 48.6% there. About 1 in 9 commuters (11.6%) 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 Clay County, 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 Clay County 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 Clay County next to Alabama 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 Clay County Alabama United States
2009 6:28 AM 7:20 AM 7:37 AM
2010 6:34 AM 7:20 AM 7:38 AM
2011 6:42 AM 7:20 AM 7:38 AM
2012 6:42 AM 7:20 AM 7:38 AM
2013 6:41 AM 7:21 AM 7:39 AM
2014 6:44 AM 7:21 AM 7:39 AM
2015 6:50 AM 7:21 AM 7:38 AM
2016 6:57 AM 7:21 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:02 AM 7:21 AM 7:38 AM
2018 6:51 AM 7:20 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:00 AM 7:20 AM 7:37 AM
2020 6:49 AM 7:20 AM 7:37 AM
2021 6:40 AM 7:21 AM 7:37 AM
2022 6:35 AM 7:20 AM 7:37 AM
2023 6:32 AM 7:20 AM 7:38 AM
2024 6:21 AM 7:19 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Clay County were on the road by 6:21 AM, 7 minutes earlier than in 2009 (6:28 AM). Across Alabama, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Clay County now leave 76 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 Clay County has moved 38 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Clay County in the whole series.

How does Clay County's commute time compare?

Metric Clay County Alabama US Average
Avg. Commute Time 22.8 min 22.1 min 22.4 min
Departure Window 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window 05:00 AM – 05:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 5.6% 8.8% 15.0%
Walked 1.1% 1.1% 2.4%
Public Transit 0.9% 0.3% 3.2%

The average commute time in Clay County is 22.8 minutes, longer than the 22.1 minutes in Alabama.

0.9% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.3% in Alabama. The share of commuters using walking is about the same as Alabama.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Clay County, AL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Clay County, AL is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 14,192 residents against a local median of 40,938. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest counties, which makes Clay County, AL an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.

The largest of those small differences is work from home, 6% below the local median at 5.6% against 5.9%. Clay County, AL has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Clay County, AL 14,192 22.8 min #5/6 5.6% #4/6 6:21 AM #1/6
Talladega County, AL 81,021 21.8 min 4.0% 7:08 AM
Randolph County, AL 22,510 22.4 min 6.8% 7:08 AM
Tallapoosa County, AL 40,938 20.3 min 5.3% 7:15 AM
Calhoun County, AL 116,090 21.1 min 5.9% 7:10 AM
Coosa County, AL 10,300 23.5 min 7.5% 6:54 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Clay County, Alabama.

What is the financial impact of commuting in Clay County, Alabama?

Commuters here spend an estimated 190 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,888 at a typical national wage. That's 3% more than the typical Alabama commuter spends.

What are the busiest morning travel hours in Clay County, Alabama?

Traffic peaks between 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM in Clay County, Alabama. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 05:00 AM – 05:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Alabama?

Among counties in Alabama, the shortest average commutes are in Pike County (16.4 min), Houston County (18.3 min), Escambia County (18.5 min). The longest are in Blount County (33.2 min), Pickens County (32.5 min), Lowndes County (31.9 min).