Commuting in Dale County, Alabama: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 4:37 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Dale County?
Map AI9/24/26, 4:37 PM
Commute Time Burden in Dale County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Dale County spend about 38 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 157 hours, about 6.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 15% less time on the road than the Alabama average of 22.1 minutes each way, a difference of 3.3 minutes.
Dale County holds about 1.0% of Alabama's population but accounts for roughly 0.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Dale County would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,951 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)
Dale County
18.9 min
37.8 min
157 hrs/yr
$4,877
958
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.
On average, it takes
18.9
minutes to get to work in
Dale County.
That's 16% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 86% of counties in Alabama
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 5.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Dale County
Car:
90.7%
Worked at Home:
5.0%
Walked:
1.9%
Other:
1.0%
Motorcycle:
0.9%unusually high
Public Transportation:
0.3%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Dale County: 8.6 times more than the Alabama average (0.9% vs 0.1%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Dale County, versus 0.1% in Alabama.
Commute Mode Trends in Dale County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Dale 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
Walked
Other
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Bicycle
Taxi
2009
90.5%
1.4%
5.9%
1.2%
0.4%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
2010
93.4%
2.1%
2.9%
0.8%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
2011
93.3%
2.6%
2.4%
0.9%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
2012
93.1%
2.9%
2.5%
0.9%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2013
93.7%
2.6%
2.1%
1.2%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2014
92.7%
3.4%
2.3%
1.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2015
94.0%
2.6%
1.6%
1.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2016
92.9%
2.4%
2.6%
1.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.4%
2017
93.9%
2.2%
2.1%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.5%
2018
92.8%
3.0%
2.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.4%
2019
93.4%
2.2%
3.1%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.4%
2020
91.7%
4.3%
2.8%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
2021
90.8%
4.1%
3.6%
0.5%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
2022
92.5%
3.5%
2.5%
0.6%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
91.5%
3.9%
2.8%
0.3%
0.9%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2024
90.7%
5.0%
1.9%
1.0%
0.9%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2015 at 94.0%. Overall it held roughly steady, at 90.5% in 2009 and 90.7% in 2024. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Dale County: its share of workers rose from 1.4% in 2009 to 5.0% in 2024, up 3.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 5.9% to 1.9% of workers (down 4.0 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Dale County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Dale County?
The bars show when commuters in Dale 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
12:00-4:59 AMDale County10.4%Alabama6.8%
10.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMDale County6.5%Alabama5.1%
6.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMDale County6.1%Alabama5.9%
6.1%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMDale County8.8%Alabama9.9%
8.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMDale County7.7%Alabama11.3%
7.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMDale County17.4%Alabama16.8%
17.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMDale County9.9%Alabama11.8%
9.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMDale County8.2%Alabama8.6%
8.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMDale County3.2%Alabama3.5%
3.2%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMDale County4.2%Alabama4.6%
4.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMDale County2.0%Alabama2.2%
2.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMDale County0.8%Alabama1.0%
0.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMDale County8.6%Alabama6.3%
8.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMDale County6.3%Alabama6.2%
6.3%
Dale CountyAlabamaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Dale County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 17.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.8% across Alabama. Early starts are more common than in Alabama: 22.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.9% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Alabama: 43.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 48.6% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.9%) 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 Dale 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 Dale 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 Dale 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
Dale County
Alabama
United States
2009
7:10 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:12 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:14 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:14 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:15 AM
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:16 AM
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:16 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:18 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:20 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:20 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:21 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:16 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:17 AM
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:16 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:15 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:18 AM
7:19 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Dale County were on the road by 7:18 AM, 8 minutes later than in 2009 (7:10 AM). Across Alabama, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Dale County now leave 20 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 Dale County has moved 3 minutes earlier.
How does Dale County's commute time compare?
Metric
Dale County
Alabama
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.9 min
22.1 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
12:00 AM – 04:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
5.0%
8.8%
15.0%
Walked
1.9%
1.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
0.3%
3.2%
The average commute time in Dale County is 18.9 minutes, shorter than the 22.1 minutes in Alabama.
The share of commuters using public transit is about the same as Alabama. 1.9% commute by walking, higher than the 1.1% in Alabama.
Dale County, AL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Dale County, AL is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 49,597 residents against a local median of 26,887. Dale County, AL sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 13% above the local median at 5.0% against 4.4%. Dale County, AL has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Dale County, Alabama.
Is commuting expensive in Dale County, Alabama?
Commuters here spend an estimated 157 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,877 at a typical national wage. That's 15% less than the typical Alabama commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Dale County, Alabama?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Dale County, Alabama. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
How do commute times compare across 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).