Commuting in Jefferson 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, 8:37 PM
How much time do drivers in Jefferson County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:37 PM
Commute Time Burden in Jefferson County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Jefferson County spend about 44 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 185 hours, about 7.7 full days, spent commuting. That is about the same time on the road as the Alabama average of 22.1 minutes each way.
Jefferson County holds about 13.1% of Alabama's population but accounts for roughly 13.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Jefferson County would save about 74 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,297 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)
Jefferson County
22.2 min
44.5 min
185 hrs/yr
$5,743
2,493
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
22.2
minutes to get to work in
Jefferson County.
That's 1% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 11.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Jefferson County
Car:
85.5%
Worked at Home:
11.1%
Walked:
1.5%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.6%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Jefferson County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Jefferson 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
Public Transportation
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
94.6%
2.3%
1.3%
0.5%
1.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2010
94.7%
2.3%
1.2%
0.4%
1.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2011
94.6%
2.4%
1.3%
0.4%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2012
94.7%
2.4%
1.2%
0.4%
1.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2013
94.6%
2.5%
1.2%
0.4%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2014
94.4%
2.5%
1.3%
0.5%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2015
94.2%
2.5%
1.3%
0.7%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2016
94.3%
2.6%
1.3%
0.6%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2017
93.8%
2.8%
1.4%
0.7%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
93.5%
3.1%
1.4%
0.8%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
93.1%
3.4%
1.4%
0.8%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
91.4%
5.2%
1.5%
0.8%
0.8%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
89.4%
7.3%
1.4%
0.8%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
88.1%
8.6%
1.4%
0.9%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
86.5%
9.8%
1.6%
1.1%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
85.5%
11.1%
1.5%
0.9%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2010 at 94.7%. Overall it fell from 94.6% in 2009 to 85.5% in 2024, down 9.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 8 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Jefferson County: its share of workers rose from 2.3% in 2009 to 11.1% in 2024, up 8.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 7.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.1% to 0.6% of workers (down 0.5 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Jefferson County
🦉Night OwlThe 2nd-latest start among Alabama's 67 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:33 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Jefferson County?
The bars show when commuters in Jefferson 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 AMJefferson County4.7%Alabama6.8%
4.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMJefferson County4.2%Alabama5.1%
4.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMJefferson County3.9%Alabama5.9%
3.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMJefferson County9.3%Alabama9.9%
9.3%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMJefferson County9.2%Alabama11.3%
9.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMJefferson County17.6%Alabama16.8%
17.6%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMJefferson County12.3%Alabama11.8%
12.3%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMJefferson County11.8%Alabama8.6%
11.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMJefferson County4.5%Alabama3.5%
4.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMJefferson County6.8%Alabama4.6%
6.8%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMJefferson County2.4%Alabama2.2%
2.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMJefferson County0.8%Alabama1.0%
0.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMJefferson County6.0%Alabama6.3%
6.0%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMJefferson County6.4%Alabama6.2%
6.4%
Jefferson CountyAlabamaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Jefferson County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 17.6% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.8% across Alabama. Early starts are less common than in Alabama: 12.8% 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 4 commuters (22.5%) 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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
Jefferson County
Alabama
United States
2009
7:28 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:29 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:28 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:28 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:29 AM
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:30 AM
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:30 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:30 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:30 AM
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:31 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:33 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:36 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:38 AM
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:36 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:36 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:33 AM
7:19 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Jefferson County were on the road by 7:33 AM, 5 minutes later than in 2009 (7:28 AM). Across Alabama, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Jefferson County now leave 5 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Jefferson County's commute time compare?
Metric
Jefferson County
Alabama
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
22.2 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
11.1%
8.8%
15.0%
Walked
1.5%
1.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.6%
0.3%
3.2%
The average commute time in Jefferson County is about the same as in Alabama.
0.6% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.3% in Alabama. 1.5% commute by walking, higher than the 1.1% in Alabama.
Jefferson County, AL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Jefferson County, AL is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 666,272 residents against a local median of 64,822. Where Jefferson County, AL breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 133% above the local median of 4.8% at 11.1%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 22.2 min against a local median of 30.3 min, 27% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 27% below the local median it puts Jefferson County, AL at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 13.8% on work from home, so Jefferson County, AL sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Jefferson County, AL has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Jefferson County, Alabama.
Is commuting expensive in Jefferson County, Alabama?
Commuters here spend an estimated 185 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,743 at a typical national wage.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Jefferson County, Alabama?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Jefferson 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.
Which counties in Alabama have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).