Redwood City Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Redwood City, 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 Redwood City: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Redwood City spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 186 hours, about 7.7 full days, spent commuting. That is 5% less time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 1.2 minutes.
Redwood City 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 Redwood City would save about 74 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,302 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood City | 22.3 min | 44.5 min | 186 hrs/yr | $5,754 | 3,235 |
| 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.
Redwood City Commute Map
On average, it takes 22.3 minutes to get to work in Redwood City. That's 1% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 26.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Redwood City
- Car: 64.9%
- Worked at Home: 26.7%
- Public Transportation: 3.8%
- Walked: 2.4%
- Bicycle: 1.1%
- Other: 0.9%
- Taxi: 0.2%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Redwood City: 650.3 times less than the California average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Commute Mode Trends in Redwood City, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Redwood City 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 | 84.7% | 5.5% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| 2010 | 84.8% | 5.6% | 3.4% | 3.0% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.6% |
| 2011 | 85.1% | 5.8% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 1.3% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| 2012 | 84.6% | 5.8% | 3.6% | 3.2% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2013 | 84.0% | 5.5% | 4.5% | 3.1% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2014 | 84.0% | 5.6% | 4.3% | 2.9% | 1.9% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2015 | 82.6% | 5.5% | 5.0% | 3.2% | 2.2% | 1.4% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2016 | 81.9% | 5.5% | 5.5% | 3.3% | 2.2% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2017 | 81.4% | 5.0% | 5.7% | 4.0% | 2.3% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2018 | 80.9% | 5.2% | 6.0% | 3.9% | 2.4% | 1.4% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2019 | 81.0% | 4.9% | 6.3% | 3.9% | 2.2% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2020 | 76.6% | 9.6% | 6.3% | 3.5% | 2.0% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2021 | 71.4% | 16.4% | 5.1% | 3.4% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2022 | 69.0% | 20.6% | 4.2% | 3.1% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2023 | 67.1% | 24.0% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2024 | 64.9% | 26.7% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 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 85.1%. Overall it fell from 84.7% in 2009 to 64.9% in 2024, down 19.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Redwood City: its share of workers rose from 5.5% in 2009 to 26.7% in 2024, up 21.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 21.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Biking lost the most ground, falling from 1.8% to 1.1% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Public transit peaked at 6.3% in 2019 and has since fallen back to 3.8%.
Commute Start Times in Redwood City
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Redwood City?
The bars show when commuters in Redwood City 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
Redwood City2.3%
California6.7%
|
2.3% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Redwood City0.8%
California4.5%
|
0.8% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Redwood City2.1%
California4.5%
|
2.1% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Redwood City6.2%
California8.4%
|
6.2% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Redwood City5.8%
California7.5%
|
5.8% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Redwood City12.0%
California13.1%
|
12.0% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Redwood City14.0%
California10.2%
|
14.0% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Redwood City20.1%
California12.6%
|
20.1% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Redwood City10.2%
California5.8%
|
10.2% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Redwood City13.8%
California8.6%
|
13.8% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Redwood City4.6%
California3.9%
|
4.6% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Redwood City0.7%
California1.8%
|
0.7% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Redwood City5.1%
California6.9%
|
5.1% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Redwood City2.3%
California5.5%
|
2.3% |
Redwood City California Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Redwood City is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 20.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.6% across California. Early starts are less common than in California: 5.2% 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 Redwood City, 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 Redwood City 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 Redwood City 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 | Redwood City | California | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:56 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 8:00 AM | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 8:01 AM | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 8:02 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 8:04 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 8:01 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 8:01 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 8:03 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 8:04 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 8:03 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 8:06 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 8:06 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 8:05 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 8:07 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 8:08 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 8:10 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Redwood City were on the road by 8:10 AM, 14 minutes later than in 2009 (7:56 AM). The shift is sharper than across California, where the typical start moved 6 minutes later. Commuters in Redwood City now leave 32 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 Redwood City has moved 5 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Redwood City in the whole series.
How does Redwood City's commute time compare?
| Metric | Redwood City | California | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 22.3 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 | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 26.7% | 17.2% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 3.8% | 2.9% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Redwood City is 22.3 minutes, shorter than the 23.5 minutes in California.
3.8% commute by public transit, higher than the 2.9% in California. The share of commuters using walking is about the same as California.
Redwood City, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
Redwood City, CA is the largest of the 4 cities compared here, 82,255 residents against a local median of 32,669. Redwood City, CA's work from home, at 26.7%, runs 22% below the 34.2% typical of the cities around it.
The cities themselves spread 4.1% on work from home, so Redwood City, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Redwood City, CA has the 4th highest work from home of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood City, CA | 82,255 | 22.3 min #3/4 | 26.7% #4/4 | 8:10 AM #1/4 |
| San Carlos, CA | 27,659 | 22.1 min | 34.9% | 8:12 AM |
| Foster City, CA | 32,669 | 27.7 min | 34.2% | 8:22 AM |
| Menlo Park, CA | 35,824 | 21.6 min | 30.8% | 8:16 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Redwood City, California.
Is commuting expensive in Redwood City, California?
Commuters here spend an estimated 186 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,754 at a typical national wage. That's 5% less than the typical California commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Redwood City, California?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Redwood City, California. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Is Redwood City, California a good location for remote and hybrid workers?
About 26.7% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Redwood City would save about 74 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,302 at the same national wage assumption used above.