Commuting in Navajo County, Arizona: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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What does a typical morning commute look like in Navajo County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:00 PM
Commute Time Burden in Navajo County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Navajo County spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 143 hours, about 6.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 23% less time on the road than the Arizona average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 5.3 minutes.
Navajo County holds about 1.4% of Arizona's population but accounts for roughly 1.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Navajo County would save about 57 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,776 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)
Navajo County
17.2 min
34.4 min
143 hrs/yr
$4,439
391
Arizona
22.4 min
44.9 min
187 hrs/yr
$5,798
1,948
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
17.2
minutes to get to work in
Navajo County.
That's 23% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 9.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Navajo County
Car:
85.8%
Worked at Home:
9.1%
Walked:
3.4%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.4%
Bicycle:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Navajo County: 3.7 times less than the Arizona average (0.1% vs 0.3%).
Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Navajo County: 9.2 times less than the Arizona average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Commute Mode Trends in Navajo County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Navajo 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
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
86.7%
5.4%
5.1%
0.8%
1.1%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
2010
86.4%
6.7%
5.0%
0.6%
0.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
2011
85.0%
7.5%
4.9%
0.7%
1.1%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2012
85.4%
7.0%
4.9%
0.8%
1.1%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
2013
85.4%
7.0%
4.9%
0.8%
1.1%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
2014
86.2%
6.7%
4.3%
0.9%
1.2%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
2015
85.1%
7.2%
3.9%
1.8%
1.4%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2016
84.7%
6.9%
5.0%
1.9%
1.0%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2017
85.0%
6.7%
4.8%
1.9%
1.1%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2018
84.1%
7.1%
4.7%
2.5%
1.1%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2019
82.6%
8.1%
4.9%
2.4%
1.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2020
85.1%
6.9%
4.7%
1.6%
1.3%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
85.6%
7.7%
3.8%
1.2%
1.2%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
85.6%
8.1%
3.5%
1.5%
0.9%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
85.0%
8.9%
3.5%
1.2%
0.9%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
85.8%
9.1%
3.4%
0.9%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share bottomed out in 2019 at 82.6%. Overall it fell from 86.7% in 2009 to 85.8% in 2024, down 0.9 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Navajo County: its share of workers rose from 5.4% in 2009 to 9.1% in 2024, up 3.7 percentage points.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 5.1% to 3.4% of workers (down 1.7 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Navajo County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Navajo County?
The bars show when commuters in Navajo 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 Arizona for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMNavajo County8.4%Arizona8.5%
8.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMNavajo County4.6%Arizona5.8%
4.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMNavajo County6.4%Arizona5.7%
6.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMNavajo County8.4%Arizona9.2%
8.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMNavajo County9.8%Arizona9.3%
9.8%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMNavajo County15.6%Arizona13.1%
15.6%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMNavajo County18.0%Arizona10.1%
18.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMNavajo County7.8%Arizona10.1%
7.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMNavajo County3.4%Arizona4.2%
3.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMNavajo County3.1%Arizona5.9%
3.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMNavajo County2.2%Arizona2.9%
2.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMNavajo County1.2%Arizona1.5%
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMNavajo County5.2%Arizona7.0%
5.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMNavajo County5.8%Arizona6.5%
5.8%
Navajo CountyArizonaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Navajo County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 10.1% across Arizona. Early starts are about as common as in Arizona: 19.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 20.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Arizona: 51.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 42.6% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (17.6%) 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 Navajo 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 Navajo 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 Navajo County next to Arizona 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
Navajo County
Arizona
United States
2009
7:31 AM
7:23 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:32 AM
7:25 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:34 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:32 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:32 AM
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:28 AM
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:28 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:29 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:30 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:29 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:28 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:24 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:24 AM
7:25 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:24 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:23 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:24 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Navajo County were on the road by 7:24 AM, 7 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:31 AM). That goes against the trend across Arizona, where the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Navajo County now leave 14 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 Navajo County has moved 4 minutes earlier.
How does Navajo County's commute time compare?
Metric
Navajo County
Arizona
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.2 min
22.4 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
9.1%
18.4%
15.0%
Walked
3.4%
1.7%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
1.0%
3.2%
The average commute time in Navajo County is 17.2 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Arizona.
0.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.0% in Arizona. 3.4% commute by walking, higher than the 1.7% in Arizona.
Navajo County, AZ Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Navajo County, AZ is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 105,853 residents against a local median of 65,339. Nothing separates Navajo County, AZ sharply from the counties around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is one-way commute, 10% above the local median at 17.2 min against 15.6 min. Navajo County, AZ has the 4th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Navajo County, Arizona.
Is commuting expensive in Navajo County, Arizona?
Commuters here spend an estimated 143 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,439 at a typical national wage. That's 23% less than the typical Arizona commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Navajo County, Arizona?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Navajo County, Arizona. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Which counties in Arizona have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Arizona, the shortest average commutes are in La Paz County (10.3 min), Gila County (13.4 min), Greenlee County (13.9 min). The longest are in Pinal County (31.0 min), Maricopa County (23.1 min), Pima County (22.2 min).