Commuting in Dana Point, California: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 3:41 PM
Is the commute in Dana Point longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:41 PM
Commute Time Burden in Dana Point: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Dana Point spend about 51 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 214 hours, about 8.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 9% more time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 2.2 minutes.
Dana Point holds about 0.1% of California's population and accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Dana Point would save about 86 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,654 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)
Dana Point
25.7 min
51.4 min
214 hrs/yr
$6,634
4,282
California
23.5 min
47.0 min
196 hrs/yr
$6,065
2,449
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.
Dana Point Commute Map
On average, it takes
25.7
minutes to get to work in
Dana Point.
That's 15% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 29.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Dana Point
Car:
65.8%
Worked at Home:
29.6%
Other:
2.0%
Walked:
1.7%
Public Transportation:
0.5%unusually low
Bicycle:
0.2%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Dana Point: 5.4 times less than the California average (0.5% vs 2.9%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Dana Point, versus 0.2% in California.
Biking is unusually rare in Dana Point: 3.1 times less than the California average (0.2% vs 0.7%).
Commute Mode Trends in Dana Point, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Dana Point 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
Bicycle
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
87.3%
7.6%
0.6%
1.9%
1.7%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2010
88.8%
7.5%
0.3%
1.4%
1.3%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
2011
89.0%
7.2%
0.3%
1.3%
1.4%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
2012
87.4%
7.2%
0.5%
2.1%
1.9%
0.8%
0.1%
0.0%
2013
85.3%
8.6%
0.8%
2.6%
1.7%
0.8%
0.3%
0.0%
2014
84.8%
9.4%
0.9%
2.7%
1.7%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2015
83.1%
10.1%
0.9%
3.5%
2.0%
0.1%
0.4%
0.0%
2016
82.3%
10.6%
1.1%
3.3%
2.2%
0.1%
0.4%
0.0%
2017
82.5%
12.4%
1.0%
2.0%
1.5%
0.1%
0.5%
0.1%
2018
81.9%
12.9%
0.8%
1.8%
2.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2019
79.7%
14.8%
0.8%
1.6%
2.1%
0.4%
0.5%
0.1%
2020
77.3%
17.4%
1.4%
1.4%
1.6%
0.4%
0.3%
0.3%
2021
72.5%
22.1%
1.9%
1.6%
1.2%
0.3%
0.2%
0.3%
2022
70.2%
24.6%
2.1%
1.8%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
67.8%
27.4%
2.3%
1.8%
0.2%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
65.8%
29.6%
2.0%
1.7%
0.5%
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 2011 at 89.0%. Overall it fell from 87.3% in 2009 to 65.8% in 2024, down 21.5 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Dana Point: its share of workers rose from 7.6% in 2009 to 29.6% in 2024, up 22.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 14.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.7% to 0.5% of workers (down 1.2 percentage points).
Walking peaked at 3.5% in 2015 and has since fallen back to 1.7%.
Commute Start Times in Dana Point
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Dana Point?
The bars show when commuters in Dana Point 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 California for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMDana Point2.7%California6.7%
2.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMDana Point4.3%California4.5%
4.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMDana Point5.9%California4.5%
5.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMDana Point7.6%California8.4%
7.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMDana Point6.9%California7.5%
6.9%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMDana Point11.0%California13.1%
11.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMDana Point16.7%California10.2%
16.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMDana Point11.5%California12.6%
11.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMDana Point8.5%California5.8%
8.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMDana Point10.6%California8.6%
10.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMDana Point4.0%California3.9%
4.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMDana Point0.8%California1.8%
0.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMDana Point5.2%California6.9%
5.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMDana Point4.3%California5.5%
4.3%
Dana PointCaliforniaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Dana Point is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 16.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 10.2% across California. Early starts are less common than in California: 12.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in California: 46.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.3% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.8%) 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 Dana Point, 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 Dana Point 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 Dana Point next to California 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
Dana Point
California
United States
2009
7:50 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:53 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:49 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:47 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:48 AM
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:50 AM
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:46 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:51 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:48 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:50 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:50 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:51 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:48 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:50 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:52 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:51 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Dana Point were on the road by 7:51 AM, 1 minute later than in 2009 (7:50 AM). Across California the shift was bigger still, with the typical start moving 6 minutes later. Commuters in Dana Point now leave 13 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Dana Point's commute time compare?
Metric
Dana Point
California
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
25.7 min
23.5 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
29.6%
17.2%
15.0%
Walked
1.7%
2.4%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.5%
2.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Dana Point is 25.7 minutes, longer than the 23.5 minutes in California.
0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.9% in California. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.4% in California.
Dana Point, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
Dana Point, CA is the 4th largest of the 5 cities compared here, 24,882 residents against a local median of 49,664. Where Dana Point, CA breaks from the cities next to it is work from home, sitting 17% above the local median of 25.4% at 29.6%.
The cities themselves spread 7.6% on work from home, so Dana Point, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Dana Point, CA has the highest work from home of the 5 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Dana Point, California.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Dana Point, California?
Commuters here spend an estimated 214 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,634 at a typical national wage. That's 9% more than the typical California commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Dana Point, California?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Dana Point, California. 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Dana Point, California?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.5% of commuters use it versus 2.9% in California, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How much money can remote workers save in Dana Point, California?
About 29.6% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Dana Point would save about 86 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,654 at the same national wage assumption used above.