Commuting in Madison County, Arkansas: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:29 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Madison County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:29 PM
Commute Time Burden in Madison County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Madison County spend about 62 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 259 hours, about 10.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 67% more time on the road than the Arkansas average of 18.6 minutes each way, a difference of 12.5 minutes.
Madison County holds about 0.6% of Arkansas's population but accounts for roughly 1.0% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Madison County would save about 104 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,215 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)
Madison County
31.1 min
62.2 min
259 hrs/yr
$8,038
763
Arkansas
18.6 min
37.2 min
155 hrs/yr
$4,807
912
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
31.1
minutes to get to work in
Madison County.
That's 39% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the 3 slowest counties in Arkansas
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 8.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Madison County
Car:
87.7%
Worked at Home:
8.8%
Walked:
3.5%
Other:
< 0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Madison County, versus 0.1% in Arkansas.
Public transit is essentially absent in Madison County, versus 0.3% in Arkansas.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Madison County, versus 0.1% in Arkansas.
Biking is essentially absent in Madison County, versus 0.2% in Arkansas.
Commute Mode Trends in Madison County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Madison 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
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
Bicycle
Other
2009
91.6%
6.8%
1.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2010
91.5%
6.2%
1.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2011
90.2%
6.3%
2.1%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2012
89.1%
7.5%
2.3%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
2013
89.4%
6.6%
2.9%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
2014
91.6%
4.9%
2.2%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.8%
2015
91.1%
6.0%
1.8%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
2016
92.2%
4.8%
1.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.2%
2017
92.7%
4.0%
1.8%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.2%
2018
92.8%
4.4%
0.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
1.3%
2019
93.3%
4.8%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.9%
2020
95.0%
2.7%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
1.2%
2021
93.4%
5.7%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.2%
2022
89.6%
7.9%
2.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2023
87.9%
8.7%
3.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
2024
87.7%
8.8%
3.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
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 2020 at 95.0%. Overall it fell from 91.6% in 2009 to 87.7% in 2024, down 3.9 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 4 releases.
Walking gained the most ground in Madison County: its share of workers rose from 1.4% in 2009 to 3.5% in 2024, up 2.1 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit peaked at 1.0% in 2011 and has since fallen back to 0.0%.
Commute Start Times in Madison County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Madison County?
The bars show when commuters in Madison 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 Arkansas for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMMadison County6.5%Arkansas5.6%
6.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMadison County4.5%Arkansas4.1%
4.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMadison County5.5%Arkansas5.2%
5.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMadison County13.5%Arkansas9.3%
13.5%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMadison County11.3%Arkansas11.2%
11.3%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMadison County25.3%Arkansas17.5%
25.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMadison County9.2%Arkansas13.9%
9.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMadison County8.3%Arkansas9.2%
8.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMadison County0.9%Arkansas3.6%
0.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMadison County5.9%Arkansas4.5%
5.9%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMadison County0.0%Arkansas2.2%
0.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMadison County0.9%Arkansas1.1%
0.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMadison County2.8%Arkansas6.2%
2.8%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMadison County5.3%Arkansas6.4%
5.3%
Madison CountyArkansasSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Madison County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 25.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 17.5% across Arkansas. Early starts are more common than in Arkansas: 16.5% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Arkansas: 54.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 51.9% there. About 1 in 7 commuters (15.0%) 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 Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison County next to Arkansas 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
Madison County
Arkansas
United States
2009
7:10 AM
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:10 AM
7:28 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:09 AM
7:28 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:05 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:02 AM
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:01 AM
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:00 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:02 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:04 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:02 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2019
6:57 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:03 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:06 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:07 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:09 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:10 AM
7:25 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Madison County were on the road by 7:10 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Arkansas, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Madison County now leave 27 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 Madison County has moved 14 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Madison County in the whole series.
How does Madison County's commute time compare?
Metric
Madison County
Arkansas
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
31.1 min
18.6 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
06:00 AM – 06:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
8.8%
8.8%
15.0%
Walked
3.5%
1.4%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.3%
3.2%
The average commute time in Madison County is 31.1 minutes, longer than the 18.6 minutes in Arkansas.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.3% in Arkansas. 3.5% commute by walking, higher than the 1.4% in Arkansas.
Madison County, AR Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Madison County, AR is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 17,329 residents against a local median of 26,012. The measure that sets Madison County, AR apart most is one-way commute: 31.1 min, 69% above the local median of 18.4 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 8.8% against a local median of 11.2%, 22% below it. The counties themselves spread 14.9 min on one-way commute, so Madison County, AR sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Madison County, AR has the 5th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Madison County, Arkansas.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Madison County, Arkansas?
Commuters here spend an estimated 259 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $8,038 at a typical national wage. That's 67% more than the typical Arkansas commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Madison County, Arkansas?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Madison County, Arkansas. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Madison County, Arkansas?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.3% in Arkansas, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Arkansas?
Among counties in Arkansas, the shortest average commutes are in Arkansas County (11.9 min), Phillips County (13.2 min), Howard County (13.4 min). The longest are in Perry County (32.2 min), Newton County (31.6 min), Madison County (31.1 min).