San Rafael Commute Time Map & Patterns

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You 8/20/26, 3:57 PM
Is the commute in San Rafael longer than the national average?
Map AI 8/20/26, 3:57 PM

Commute Time Burden in San Rafael: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in San Rafael spend about 43 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 178 hours, about 7.4 full days, spent commuting.

That is 10% less time on the road than the California average of 23.6 minutes each way, a difference of 2.3 minutes.

San Rafael holds about 0.1% of California's population and accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in San Rafael would save about 71 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,206 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)
San Rafael 21.3 min 42.7 min 178 hrs/yr $5,514 3,626
California 23.6 min 47.2 min 197 hrs/yr $6,099 2,449
United States 22.5 min 44.9 min 187 hrs/yr $5,803 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.

San Rafael Commute Map

On average, it takes 21.3 minutes to get to work in San Rafael. That's 5% shorter than the 22.5-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM , followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM .

Most people travel to work by Car , followed by Worked at Home . About 23.3% work from home.

Commute mode distribution

  • Car: 62.9%
  • Worked at Home: 23.3%
  • Public Transportation: 6.5%
  • Walked: 4.5%
  • Other: 1.5%
  • Bicycle: 1.0%
  • Motorcycle: 0.1%
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low

Taxi commuting is unusually low in San Rafael: 14.6 times less than the California average (0.0% vs 0.2%).

How does San Rafael's commute time compare?

Metric San Rafael California US Average
Avg. Commute Time 21.3 min 23.6 min 22.5 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 23.3% 15.5% 13.4%
Walked 4.5% 2.4% 2.4%
Public Transit 6.5% 3.2% 3.5%

The average commute time in San Rafael is 21.3 minutes, shorter than the 23.6 minutes in California.

6.5% commute by public transit, higher than the 3.2% in California. 4.5% commute by walking, higher than the 2.4% in California.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in San Rafael, California.

Is commuting expensive in San Rafael, California?

Commuters here spend an estimated 178 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,514 at a typical national wage. That's 10% less than the typical California commuter spends.

What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in San Rafael, California?

Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in San Rafael, 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.

Is San Rafael, California a good location for remote and hybrid workers?

About 23.3% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in San Rafael would save about 71 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,206 at the same national wage assumption used above.