Commuting in Houston County, Alabama: 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 much time do drivers in Houston County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 6:29 PM
Commute Time Burden in Houston County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Houston County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 153 hours, about 6.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 17% less time on the road than the Alabama average of 22.1 minutes each way, a difference of 3.8 minutes.
Houston County holds about 2.1% of Alabama's population but accounts for roughly 1.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Houston County would save about 61 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,895 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)
Houston County
18.3 min
36.7 min
153 hrs/yr
$4,738
923
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
18.3
minutes to get to work in
Houston County.
That's 18% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 3 fastest counties in Alabama
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 4.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Houston County
Car:
93.5%
Worked at Home:
4.6%
Other:
0.7%
Walked:
0.6%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Public Transportation:
0.2%
Taxi:
0.1%
Bicycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Houston County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Houston 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
95.2%
1.7%
1.4%
0.7%
0.3%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
2010
95.4%
1.8%
1.3%
0.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2011
95.4%
1.7%
1.5%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2012
95.5%
1.6%
1.5%
0.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2013
95.9%
1.7%
1.2%
0.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2014
95.8%
1.9%
1.0%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2015
95.6%
2.1%
1.0%
0.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2016
95.8%
2.2%
0.6%
0.8%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2017
96.0%
2.3%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
95.7%
2.6%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
95.4%
2.8%
0.7%
0.8%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
95.0%
3.2%
0.7%
0.8%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
94.5%
3.8%
0.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
94.0%
4.3%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
93.8%
4.2%
0.7%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
93.5%
4.6%
0.7%
0.6%
0.2%
0.2%
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 96.0%. Overall it fell from 95.2% in 2009 to 93.5% in 2024, down 1.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Houston County: its share of workers rose from 1.7% in 2009 to 4.6% in 2024, up 2.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 1.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Houston County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Houston County?
The bars show when commuters in Houston 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 AMHouston County6.4%Alabama6.8%
6.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMHouston County4.3%Alabama5.1%
4.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMHouston County5.4%Alabama5.9%
5.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMHouston County9.0%Alabama9.9%
9.0%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMHouston County11.6%Alabama11.3%
11.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMHouston County17.8%Alabama16.8%
17.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMHouston County13.1%Alabama11.8%
13.1%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMHouston County8.5%Alabama8.6%
8.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMHouston County1.9%Alabama3.5%
1.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMHouston County4.5%Alabama4.6%
4.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMHouston County2.3%Alabama2.2%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMHouston County1.8%Alabama1.0%
1.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMHouston County5.6%Alabama6.3%
5.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMHouston County7.8%Alabama6.2%
7.8%
Houston CountyAlabamaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Houston County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 17.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.8% across Alabama. Early starts are less common than in Alabama: 16.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.9% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Alabama: 51.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 48.6% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (22.0%) 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 Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston 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
Houston County
Alabama
United States
2009
7:30 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:27 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:25 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:24 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:24 AM
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:25 AM
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:25 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:26 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:25 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:25 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:26 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:25 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:24 AM
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:24 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:24 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:22 AM
7:19 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Houston County were on the road by 7:22 AM, 7 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:30 AM). Across Alabama, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Houston County now leave 15 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 Houston County has moved 3 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Houston County in the whole series.
How does Houston County's commute time compare?
Metric
Houston County
Alabama
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.3 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
4.6%
8.8%
15.0%
Walked
0.6%
1.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.2%
0.3%
3.2%
The average commute time in Houston County is 18.3 minutes, shorter than the 22.1 minutes in Alabama.
0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.3% in Alabama. 0.6% commute by walking, lower than the 1.1% in Alabama.
Houston County, AL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Houston County, AL is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 108,140 residents against a local median of 17,647. Houston 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, 5% above the local median at 4.6% against 4.4%. Houston County, AL has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Houston County, Alabama.
Is commuting expensive in Houston County, Alabama?
Commuters here spend an estimated 153 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,738 at a typical national wage. That's 17% less than the typical Alabama commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Houston County, Alabama?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Houston County, Alabama. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:30 AM – 07:59 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).