Commuting in Sacramento 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, 3:37 PM
Is the commute in Sacramento County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:37 PM
Commute Time Burden in Sacramento County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Sacramento County spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 193 hours, about 8.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 1% less time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 0.3 minutes.
Sacramento County holds about 4.1% of California's population but accounts for roughly 4.0% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Sacramento County would save about 77 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,391 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)
Sacramento County
23.1 min
46.3 min
193 hrs/yr
$5,977
3,508
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
23.1
minutes to get to work in
Sacramento County.
That's 3% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 72% of counties in California
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 19.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Sacramento County
Car:
75.4%
Worked at Home:
19.1%
Walked:
1.7%
Public Transportation:
1.3%
Other:
1.3%
Bicycle:
0.7%
Taxi:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Commute Mode Trends in Sacramento County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Sacramento 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
Public Transportation
Other
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
88.3%
4.4%
2.1%
3.0%
0.8%
1.1%
0.0%
0.3%
2010
88.1%
4.5%
2.0%
3.1%
0.8%
1.1%
0.0%
0.3%
2011
87.9%
4.7%
2.0%
3.1%
0.7%
1.2%
0.0%
0.4%
2012
87.5%
4.9%
2.1%
3.1%
0.8%
1.3%
0.0%
0.4%
2013
87.7%
4.9%
2.0%
3.1%
0.7%
1.2%
0.0%
0.4%
2014
87.5%
5.1%
2.1%
3.0%
0.8%
1.2%
0.0%
0.3%
2015
87.5%
5.1%
2.2%
2.9%
0.8%
1.2%
0.0%
0.3%
2016
87.5%
5.3%
2.0%
2.7%
0.9%
1.2%
0.1%
0.3%
2017
87.5%
5.5%
1.9%
2.7%
0.9%
1.1%
0.1%
0.3%
2018
87.5%
5.8%
1.8%
2.6%
0.9%
1.0%
0.1%
0.3%
2019
87.2%
6.3%
1.8%
2.5%
0.9%
0.9%
0.1%
0.3%
2020
84.8%
9.0%
1.8%
2.2%
0.9%
0.9%
0.1%
0.3%
2021
81.8%
12.2%
1.7%
2.0%
1.1%
0.8%
0.1%
0.3%
2022
79.4%
14.9%
1.7%
1.7%
1.2%
0.7%
0.1%
0.3%
2023
77.1%
17.3%
1.7%
1.5%
1.2%
0.7%
0.2%
0.3%
2024
75.4%
19.1%
1.7%
1.3%
1.3%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 88.3% in 2009 to 75.4% in 2024, down 12.9 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Sacramento County: its share of workers rose from 4.4% in 2009 to 19.1% in 2024, up 14.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 12.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 3.0% to 1.3% of workers (down 1.7 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Sacramento County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Sacramento County?
The bars show when commuters in Sacramento 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 AMSacramento County6.3%California6.7%
6.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSacramento County4.2%California4.5%
4.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSacramento County4.9%California4.5%
4.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSacramento County8.4%California8.4%
8.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSacramento County8.2%California7.5%
8.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSacramento County13.3%California13.1%
13.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSacramento County11.3%California10.2%
11.3%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSacramento County11.6%California12.6%
11.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSacramento County5.7%California5.8%
5.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSacramento County7.2%California8.6%
7.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSacramento County3.4%California3.9%
3.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSacramento County1.6%California1.8%
1.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSacramento County7.2%California6.9%
7.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSacramento County6.7%California5.5%
6.7%
Sacramento CountyCaliforniaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Sacramento County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.1% across California. Early starts are about as common as in California: 15.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.8% there. The morning rush looks much like California's: 44.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.3% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.2%) 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 Sacramento 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 Sacramento 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 Sacramento 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
Sacramento County
California
United States
2009
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:37 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:39 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:41 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:42 AM
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:41 AM
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:41 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:40 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:39 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:38 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:37 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:37 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:37 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:39 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:42 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:43 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Sacramento County were on the road by 7:43 AM, 8 minutes later than in 2009 (7:35 AM). California followed the same path, with the typical start moving 6 minutes later. Commuters in Sacramento County now leave 5 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 Sacramento County has moved 6 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Sacramento County in the whole series.
How does Sacramento County's commute time compare?
Metric
Sacramento County
California
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
23.1 min
23.5 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 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
19.1%
17.2%
15.0%
Walked
1.7%
2.4%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.3%
2.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Sacramento County is about the same as in California.
1.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.9% in California. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.4% in California.
Sacramento County, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Sacramento County, CA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 1,591,938 residents against a local median of 220,537. Sacramento County, CA's work from home, at 19.1%, runs 56% above the 12.3% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 10.4% on work from home, so Sacramento County, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Sacramento County, CA has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Sacramento County, California.
Is commuting expensive in Sacramento County, California?
Commuters here spend an estimated 193 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,977 at a typical national wage. That's 1% less than the typical California commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Sacramento County, California?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Sacramento 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.
Which counties in California have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).