Phoenix Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Phoenix, Arizona: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Phoenix: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Phoenix spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 192 hours, about 8.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 3% more time on the road than the Arizona average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 0.6 minutes.
Phoenix holds about 21.7% of Arizona's population but accounts for roughly 22.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Phoenix would save about 77 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,378 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 23.0 min | 46.0 min | 192 hrs/yr | $5,946 | 4,238 |
| 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.
Phoenix Commute Map
On average, it takes 23.0 minutes to get to work in Phoenix. That's 3% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 19.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Phoenix
- Car: 74.9%
- Worked at Home: 19.1%
- Public Transportation: 1.9%
- Other: 1.6%
- Walked: 1.5%
- Bicycle: 0.4%
- Taxi: 0.3%
- Motorcycle: 0.2%
Commute Mode Trends in Phoenix, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Phoenix 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Public Transportation | Other | Walked | Bicycle | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 87.9% | 4.2% | 3.7% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2010 | 87.8% | 4.7% | 3.5% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2011 | 87.4% | 4.8% | 3.7% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2012 | 87.4% | 5.0% | 3.5% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2013 | 87.2% | 5.0% | 3.5% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2014 | 86.9% | 5.1% | 3.6% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2015 | 86.8% | 5.0% | 3.6% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2016 | 86.9% | 5.2% | 3.4% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 2017 | 87.0% | 5.4% | 3.3% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2018 | 87.0% | 5.7% | 3.2% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2019 | 87.2% | 5.9% | 3.0% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| 2020 | 85.1% | 8.3% | 2.7% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| 2021 | 82.2% | 11.5% | 2.4% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2022 | 79.4% | 14.4% | 2.2% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2023 | 77.0% | 17.0% | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2024 | 74.9% | 19.1% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 87.9% in 2009 to 74.9% in 2024, down 13.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Phoenix: its share of workers rose from 4.2% in 2009 to 19.1% in 2024, up 14.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 13.2 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 3.7% to 1.9% of workers (down 1.8 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Phoenix
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Phoenix?
The bars show when commuters in Phoenix 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 AM
Phoenix9.1%
Arizona8.5%
|
9.1% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Phoenix6.5%
Arizona5.8%
|
6.5% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Phoenix5.2%
Arizona5.7%
|
5.2% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Phoenix9.5%
Arizona9.2%
|
9.5% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Phoenix8.2%
Arizona9.3%
|
8.2% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Phoenix13.5%
Arizona13.1%
|
13.5% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Phoenix9.2%
Arizona10.1%
|
9.2% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Phoenix10.7%
Arizona10.1%
|
10.7% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Phoenix4.4%
Arizona4.2%
|
4.4% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Phoenix5.8%
Arizona5.9%
|
5.8% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Phoenix3.1%
Arizona2.9%
|
3.1% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Phoenix1.4%
Arizona1.5%
|
1.4% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Phoenix6.8%
Arizona7.0%
|
6.8% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Phoenix6.7%
Arizona6.5%
|
6.7% |
Phoenix Arizona Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Phoenix is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.1% across Arizona. Early starts are about as common as in Arizona: 20.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 20.1% there. The morning rush looks much like Arizona's: 41.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 42.6% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.7%) 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 Phoenix, 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 Phoenix 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 Phoenix 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Phoenix | Arizona | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:19 AM | 7:23 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:22 AM | 7:25 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:24 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:25 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:26 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:26 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:24 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:24 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:23 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:23 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:23 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:24 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:23 AM | 7:25 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:24 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:25 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:26 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Phoenix were on the road by 7:26 AM, 7 minutes later than in 2009 (7:19 AM). The shift is sharper than across Arizona, where the typical start moved 3 minutes later. Commuters in Phoenix now leave 12 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 Phoenix has moved 3 minutes later.
How does Phoenix's commute time compare?
| Metric | Phoenix | Arizona | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 23.0 min | 22.4 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 | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 19.1% | 18.4% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.5% | 1.7% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.9% | 1.0% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Phoenix is 23.0 minutes, longer than the 22.4 minutes in Arizona.
1.9% commute by public transit, higher than the 1.0% in Arizona. 1.5% commute by walking, lower than the 1.7% in Arizona.
Phoenix, AZ Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
How Phoenix, AZ compares with the 2 cities closest to it.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, AZ | 1,599,139 | 23.0 min #1/3 | 19.1% #2/3 | 7:25 AM #3/3 |
| Glendale, AZ | 256,120 | 26.2 min | 14.6% | 7:19 AM |
| Sun City, AZ | 40,024 | 23.1 min | 19.4% | 7:25 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Phoenix, Arizona.
Is commuting expensive in Phoenix, Arizona?
Commuters here spend an estimated 192 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,946 at a typical national wage. That's 3% more than the typical Arizona commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Phoenix, Arizona?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Phoenix, Arizona. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.