Commuting in Humboldt County, California: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:17 PM
How much time do drivers in Humboldt County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:17 PM
Commute Time Burden in Humboldt County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Humboldt County spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 133 hours, about 5.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 32% less time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 7.6 minutes.
Humboldt County holds about 0.3% of California's population but accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Humboldt County would save about 53 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,645 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)
Humboldt County
15.9 min
31.8 min
133 hrs/yr
$4,113
706
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.
On average, it takes
15.9
minutes to get to work in
Humboldt County.
That's 29% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 88% of counties in California
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 13.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Humboldt County
Car:
78.9%
Worked at Home:
13.0%
Walked:
4.4%
Bicycle:
1.1%
Public Transportation:
1.0%
Other:
0.9%
Taxi:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Commute Mode Trends in Humboldt County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Humboldt 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
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Other
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
82.7%
7.0%
5.1%
2.6%
1.5%
0.6%
0.2%
0.3%
2010
83.2%
6.5%
5.1%
2.8%
1.2%
0.7%
0.1%
0.3%
2011
82.6%
6.4%
5.6%
2.8%
1.5%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
2012
82.8%
6.5%
5.8%
2.4%
1.2%
0.8%
0.3%
0.2%
2013
83.1%
6.5%
6.0%
2.0%
1.3%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
2014
82.8%
6.6%
6.5%
1.7%
1.2%
0.8%
0.1%
0.3%
2015
81.7%
7.2%
6.7%
1.8%
1.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.3%
2016
82.0%
7.1%
6.4%
1.8%
1.9%
0.5%
0.0%
0.4%
2017
81.2%
7.4%
6.7%
1.7%
1.9%
0.5%
0.0%
0.6%
2018
81.7%
6.8%
6.6%
1.7%
2.0%
0.5%
0.0%
0.6%
2019
82.0%
7.2%
6.4%
1.4%
1.8%
0.7%
0.0%
0.6%
2020
81.3%
8.5%
6.2%
1.0%
1.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.6%
2021
79.5%
10.9%
5.9%
0.9%
1.3%
1.0%
0.1%
0.3%
2022
80.3%
10.9%
5.3%
0.8%
1.2%
1.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2023
79.5%
11.9%
5.3%
1.0%
0.8%
1.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2024
78.9%
13.0%
4.4%
1.1%
1.0%
0.9%
0.4%
0.2%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2010 at 83.2%. Overall it fell from 82.7% in 2009 to 78.9% in 2024, down 3.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Humboldt County: its share of workers rose from 7.0% in 2009 to 13.0% in 2024, up 6.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Biking lost the most ground, falling from 2.6% to 1.1% of workers (down 1.5 percentage points).
Walking peaked at 6.7% in 2015 and has since fallen back to 4.4%.
Commute Start Times in Humboldt County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Humboldt County?
The bars show when commuters in Humboldt 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 California for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMHumboldt County3.1%California6.7%
3.1%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMHumboldt County1.9%California4.5%
1.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMHumboldt County2.9%California4.5%
2.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMHumboldt County4.8%California8.4%
4.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMHumboldt County5.6%California7.5%
5.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMHumboldt County12.1%California13.1%
12.1%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMHumboldt County20.5%California10.2%
20.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMHumboldt County13.6%California12.6%
13.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMHumboldt County8.9%California5.8%
8.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMHumboldt County8.1%California8.6%
8.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMHumboldt County4.9%California3.9%
4.9%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMHumboldt County2.3%California1.8%
2.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMHumboldt County5.7%California6.9%
5.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMHumboldt County5.5%California5.5%
5.5%
Humboldt CountyCaliforniaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Humboldt County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 20.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 10.2% across California. Early starts are less common than in California: 7.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in California: 51.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.3% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.5%) 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 Humboldt 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 Humboldt 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 Humboldt County 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
Humboldt County
California
United States
2009
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:57 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:59 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2012
8:01 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2013
8:03 AM
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
2014
8:02 AM
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
2015
8:02 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2016
8:06 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2017
8:03 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2018
8:03 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2019
8:01 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2020
8:02 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2021
8:00 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:59 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:58 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:59 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Humboldt County were on the road by 7:59 AM, 3 minutes later than in 2009 (7:56 AM). Across California the shift was bigger still, with the typical start moving 6 minutes later. Commuters in Humboldt County now leave 21 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Humboldt County has moved 3 minutes earlier.
How does Humboldt County's commute time compare?
Metric
Humboldt County
California
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
15.9 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
13.0%
17.2%
15.0%
Walked
4.4%
2.4%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.0%
2.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Humboldt County is 15.9 minutes, shorter than the 23.5 minutes in California.
1.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.9% in California. 4.4% commute by walking, higher than the 2.4% in California.
Humboldt County, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Humboldt County, CA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 134,541 residents against a local median of 43,469. Humboldt County, CA sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 8% above the local median at 13.0% against 12.1%. Humboldt County, CA has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Humboldt County, California.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Humboldt County, California?
Commuters here spend an estimated 133 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,113 at a typical national wage. That's 32% less than the typical California commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Humboldt County, California?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Humboldt County, 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.
How do commute times compare across counties in California?
Among counties in California, the shortest average commutes are in Inyo County (11.1 min), Mono County (12.0 min), Del Norte County (12.1 min). The longest are in Alpine County (31.3 min), San Benito County (31.2 min), Contra Costa County (31.0 min).