Monterey Park Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Monterey Park, California: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Monterey Park: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Monterey Park spend about 55 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 228 hours, about 9.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 17% more time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 3.9 minutes.
Monterey Park holds about 0.2% of California's population and accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Monterey Park would save about 91 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,830 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey Park | 27.4 min | 54.8 min | 228 hrs/yr | $7,076 | 4,580 |
| 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.
Monterey Park Commute Map
On average, it takes 27.4 minutes to get to work in Monterey Park. That's 22% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 17.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Monterey Park
- Car: 75.9%
- Worked at Home: 17.8%
- Public Transportation: 2.7%
- Walked: 1.7%
- Bicycle: 1.0%
- Other: 0.5%
- Taxi: 0.4%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Monterey Park: 8.4 times less than the California average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Commute Mode Trends in Monterey Park, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Monterey Park 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 | Walked | Bicycle | Other | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 89.3% | 3.0% | 3.7% | 2.2% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2010 | 89.1% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 2.3% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2011 | 88.3% | 4.3% | 3.7% | 1.8% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2012 | 87.4% | 5.2% | 3.9% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2013 | 87.8% | 5.3% | 3.8% | 1.6% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| 2014 | 88.4% | 4.8% | 4.2% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2015 | 87.8% | 5.5% | 4.6% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2016 | 89.7% | 4.9% | 3.6% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 90.9% | 4.5% | 3.1% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2018 | 90.9% | 4.5% | 3.2% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2019 | 90.9% | 5.1% | 2.6% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2020 | 88.4% | 7.7% | 1.9% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 84.0% | 10.7% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 80.1% | 13.5% | 2.4% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 77.7% | 15.8% | 2.9% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 75.9% | 17.8% | 2.7% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2017 at 90.9%. Overall it fell from 89.3% in 2009 to 75.9% in 2024, down 13.4 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Monterey Park: its share of workers rose from 3.0% in 2009 to 17.8% in 2024, up 14.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 12.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 3.7% to 2.7% of workers (down 1.0 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2010 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Monterey Park
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Monterey Park?
The bars show when commuters in Monterey Park 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 AM
Monterey Park3.3%
California6.7%
|
3.3% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Monterey Park2.6%
California4.5%
|
2.6% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Monterey Park2.4%
California4.5%
|
2.4% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Monterey Park4.5%
California8.4%
|
4.5% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Monterey Park4.7%
California7.5%
|
4.7% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Monterey Park9.0%
California13.1%
|
9.0% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Monterey Park7.1%
California10.2%
|
7.1% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Monterey Park18.3%
California12.6%
|
18.3% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Monterey Park12.7%
California5.8%
|
12.7% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Monterey Park18.0%
California8.6%
|
18.0% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Monterey Park6.8%
California3.9%
|
6.8% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Monterey Park2.9%
California1.8%
|
2.9% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Monterey Park3.8%
California6.9%
|
3.8% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Monterey Park4.0%
California5.5%
|
4.0% |
Monterey Park California Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Monterey Park is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 18.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.6% across California. Early starts are less common than in California: 8.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.8% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in California: 39.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.3% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (35.5%) 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 Monterey Park, 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 Monterey Park 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 Monterey Park 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Monterey Park | California | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 8:10 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 8:10 AM | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 8:11 AM | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 8:10 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 8:08 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 8:07 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 8:08 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 8:06 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 8:07 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 8:08 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 8:08 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 8:11 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 8:17 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 8:21 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 8:22 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 8:27 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Monterey Park were on the road by 8:27 AM, 17 minutes later than in 2009 (8:10 AM). The shift is sharper than across California, where the typical start moved 6 minutes later. Commuters in Monterey Park now leave 49 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 Monterey Park has moved 19 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Monterey Park in the whole series.
How does Monterey Park's commute time compare?
| Metric | Monterey Park | California | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 27.4 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 | 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 17.8% | 17.2% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.7% | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Monterey Park is 27.4 minutes, longer than the 23.5 minutes in California.
2.7% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.9% in California. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.4% in California.
Monterey Park, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
Monterey Park, CA is the 4th largest of the 5 cities compared here, 59,749 residents against a local median of 71,194. The measure that sets Monterey Park, CA apart most is work from home: 17.8%, 82% above the local median of 9.8%.
The cities themselves spread 6.0% on work from home, so Monterey Park, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Monterey Park, CA has the highest work from home of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey Park, CA | 59,749 | 27.4 min #2/5 | 17.8% #1/5 | 8:27 AM #5/5 |
| Alhambra, CA | 80,973 | 28.2 min | 14.4% | 8:03 AM |
| East Los Angeles, CA | 110,433 | 28.1 min | 8.4% | 7:22 AM |
| Montebello, CA | 61,415 | 28.6 min | 10.6% | 7:27 AM |
| Rosemead, CA | 50,370 | 23.2 min | 9.0% | 8:18 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Monterey Park, California.
Is commuting expensive in Monterey Park, California?
Commuters here spend an estimated 228 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,076 at a typical national wage. That's 17% more than the typical California commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Monterey Park, California?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Monterey Park, California. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.