Los Angeles County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Los Angeles County, California: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 4:02 PM

How much time do drivers in Los Angeles County spend on the road daily?

Map AI 9/24/26, 4:02 PM

Commute Time Burden in Los Angeles County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Los Angeles County spend about 56 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 235 hours, about 9.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 20% more time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 4.7 minutes.

Los Angeles County holds about 25.0% of California's population but accounts for roughly 29.9% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Los Angeles County would save about 94 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,910 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)
Los Angeles County	28.2 min	56.3 min	235 hrs/yr	$7,274	3,747
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.

Commute Time Map: California Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in California

Inyo County (11.1 min)
Mono County (12.0 min)
Del Norte County (12.1 min)

Slowest commutes among counties in California

Alpine County (31.3 min)
San Benito County (31.2 min)
Contra Costa County (31.0 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Los Angeles County

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Average commute time

On average, it takes 28.2 minutes to get to work in Los Angeles County. That's 26% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Slower than 88% of counties in California

The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 17.1% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Los Angeles County

Commute Mode Trends in Los Angeles County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Los Angeles 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	Public Transportation	Walked	Other	Bicycle	Taxi	Motorcycle
2009	83.7%	4.3%	7.0%	2.8%	1.1%	0.7%	0.1%	0.3%
2010	83.5%	4.6%	7.1%	2.9%	1.0%	0.7%	0.1%	0.2%
2011	83.3%	4.7%	7.1%	2.9%	1.0%	0.8%	0.1%	0.3%
2012	83.1%	4.8%	7.1%	2.9%	0.9%	0.8%	0.0%	0.3%
2013	83.0%	5.0%	7.1%	2.9%	0.9%	0.9%	0.0%	0.2%
2014	82.9%	5.1%	7.0%	2.9%	1.0%	0.9%	0.0%	0.2%
2015	82.9%	5.1%	6.8%	2.8%	1.0%	0.9%	0.1%	0.3%
2016	83.1%	5.2%	6.5%	2.8%	1.1%	0.9%	0.1%	0.3%
2017	83.3%	5.3%	6.3%	2.7%	1.1%	0.9%	0.1%	0.3%
2018	83.5%	5.4%	6.0%	2.7%	1.1%	0.8%	0.2%	0.3%
2019	83.5%	5.6%	5.8%	2.7%	1.1%	0.8%	0.3%	0.2%
2020	81.6%	8.0%	5.4%	2.6%	1.1%	0.7%	0.3%	0.2%
2021	79.3%	10.9%	4.9%	2.4%	1.3%	0.6%	0.3%	0.2%
2022	77.3%	13.2%	4.6%	2.5%	1.3%	0.6%	0.3%	0.2%
2023	75.7%	15.2%	4.3%	2.4%	1.4%	0.6%	0.3%	0.2%
2024	74.1%	17.1%	3.9%	2.4%	1.4%	0.5%	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 83.7% in 2009 to 74.1% in 2024, down 9.6 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Los Angeles County: its share of workers rose from 4.3% in 2009 to 17.1% in 2024, up 12.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 7.0% to 3.9% of workers (down 3.1 percentage points).

Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.

Commute Start Times in Los Angeles County

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Los Angeles County?

The bars show when commuters in Los Angeles 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		6.5%
5:00-5:29 AM		4.3%
5:30-5:59 AM		4.0%
6:00-6:29 AM		8.2%
6:30-6:59 AM		6.8%
7:00-7:29 AM		13.3%
7:30-7:59 AM		8.8%
8:00-8:29 AM		13.7%
8:30-8:59 AM		6.2%
9:00-9:59 AM		9.6%
10:00-10:59 AM		4.3%
11:00-11:59 AM		1.9%
12:00-3:59 PM		7.1%
4:00-11:59 PM		5.4%

Los Angeles County California Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Los Angeles County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 13.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.6% across California. Early starts are less common than in California: 14.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.8% there. The morning rush looks much like California's: 42.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.3% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (28.3%) 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 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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	Los Angeles County	California	United States
2009	7:42 AM	7:39 AM	7:37 AM
2010	7:44 AM	7:41 AM	7:38 AM
2011	7:45 AM	7:41 AM	7:38 AM
2012	7:46 AM	7:42 AM	7:38 AM
2013	7:47 AM	7:43 AM	7:39 AM
2014	7:47 AM	7:43 AM	7:39 AM
2015	7:47 AM	7:43 AM	7:38 AM
2016	7:47 AM	7:43 AM	7:38 AM
2017	7:47 AM	7:42 AM	7:38 AM
2018	7:47 AM	7:42 AM	7:37 AM
2019	7:48 AM	7:42 AM	7:37 AM
2020	7:49 AM	7:42 AM	7:37 AM
2021	7:49 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	7:54 AM	7:45 AM	7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Los Angeles County were on the road by 7:54 AM, 12 minutes later than in 2009 (7:42 AM). The shift is sharper than across California, where the typical start moved 6 minutes later. Commuters in Los Angeles County now leave 16 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 Los Angeles County has moved 6 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Los Angeles County in the whole series.

How does Los Angeles County's commute time compare?

Metric	Los Angeles County	California	US Average
Avg. Commute Time	28.2 min	23.5 min	22.4 min
Departure Window	08:00 AM – 08:29 AM	07:00 AM – 07:29 AM	07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window	07:00 AM – 07:29 AM	08:00 AM – 08:29 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home	17.1%	17.2%	15.0%
Walked	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%
Public Transit	3.9%	2.9%	3.2%

The average commute time in Los Angeles County is 28.2 minutes, longer than the 23.5 minutes in California.

3.9% commute by public transit, higher than the 2.9% in California. The share of commuters using walking is about the same as California.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Los Angeles County, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Los Angeles County, CA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 9,796,997 residents against a local median of 915,060. Where Los Angeles County, CA breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 24% above the local median of 22.6 min at 28.2 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.

The counties themselves spread 6.1 min on one-way commute, so Los Angeles County, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Los Angeles County, CA has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area	Population	One-way commute	Work from home	Typical departure
Los Angeles County, CA	9,796,997	28.2 min #6/6	17.1% #3/6	7:54 AM #5/6
Orange County, CA	3,164,225	23.1 min	18.5%	7:54 AM
Ventura County, CA	836,943	23.0 min	15.8%	7:40 AM
Kern County, CA	915,060	20.6 min	7.5%	7:17 AM
Santa Barbara County, CA	443,693	17.1 min	13.4%	7:46 AM
San Diego County, CA	3,282,387	22.6 min	18.7%	7:40 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Los Angeles County, California.

How much does the average commute cost workers in Los Angeles County, California?

Commuters here spend an estimated 235 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,274 at a typical national wage. That's 20% more than the typical California commuter spends.

When is rush hour worst in Los Angeles County, California?

Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Los Angeles County, California. 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.

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).