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Sierra County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Sierra 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, 7:53 PM
How much time do drivers in Sierra County spend on the road daily?
Map AI 9/24/26, 7:53 PM

Commute Time Burden in Sierra County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Sierra County spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 135 hours, about 5.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 31% less time on the road than the California average of 23.5 minutes each way, a difference of 7.3 minutes.

Sierra County holds about 0.0% of California's population and accounts for roughly 0.0% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Sierra County would save about 54 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,672 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)
Sierra County 16.2 min 32.4 min 135 hrs/yr $4,181 389
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
  1. Inyo County (11.1 min)
  2. Mono County (12.0 min)
  3. Del Norte County (12.1 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in California
  1. Alpine County (31.3 min)
  2. San Benito County (31.2 min)
  3. Contra Costa County (31.0 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Sierra County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 16.2 minutes to get to work in Sierra County. That's 28% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Faster than 84% of counties in California

The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 16.8% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Sierra County

  • Car: 77.3%
  • Worked at Home: 16.8%
  • Other: 4.1%
  • Walked: 1.8%
  • Public Transportation: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low

Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Sierra County, versus 0.2% in California.

Public transit is unusually rare in Sierra County: 1236241527.9 times less than the California average (0.0% vs 2.9%).

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Sierra County, versus 0.2% in California.

Biking is essentially absent in Sierra County, versus 0.7% in California.

Commute Mode Trends in Sierra County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Sierra 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 Other Walked Public Transportation Taxi Motorcycle Bicycle
2009 75.9% 11.8% 0.7% 9.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 1.6%
2010 76.8% 13.1% 0.4% 7.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 1.8%
2011 81.6% 11.9% 1.5% 2.3% 1.0% 0.0% 0.3% 1.3%
2012 78.4% 13.3% 1.2% 5.1% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.1%
2013 83.2% 6.9% 1.7% 5.9% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4%
2014 85.3% 6.9% 1.6% 4.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4%
2015 79.8% 12.1% 2.3% 4.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5%
2016 78.8% 15.0% 0.0% 5.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.8%
2017 77.8% 18.1% 0.0% 3.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.7%
2018 75.2% 21.2% 0.0% 3.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3%
2019 78.9% 18.2% 0.0% 2.3% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2020 84.8% 13.5% 0.0% 1.4% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2021 81.6% 18.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2022 86.8% 11.9% 0.5% 0.5% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 82.5% 13.0% 2.9% 1.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 77.3% 16.8% 4.1% 1.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2022 at 86.8% and lowest in 2018 at 75.2%. Overall it rose from 75.9% in 2009 to 77.3% in 2024, up 1.4 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Sierra County: its share of workers rose from 11.8% in 2009 to 16.8% in 2024, up 5.0 percentage points.

Walking lost the most ground, falling from 9.7% to 1.8% of workers (down 7.9 percentage points).

Working from home peaked at 21.2% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 16.8%.

Commute Start Times in Sierra County

  • Rush-Hour RegularsThe 2nd-highest share of rush-hour departures among California's 58 counties: 57.2% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Sierra County?

The bars show when commuters in Sierra 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
15.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
5.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
1.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
4.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
14.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
19.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
12.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
10.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
0.3%
9:00-9:59 AM
4.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
1.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
0.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
9.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
0.0%

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

The busiest time to head out in Sierra County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 19.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.1% across California. Early starts are more common than in California: 22.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in California: 57.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.3% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (15.4%) 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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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 Sierra County California United States
2009 7:10 AM 7:39 AM 7:37 AM
2010 7:10 AM 7:41 AM 7:38 AM
2011 7:38 AM 7:41 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:41 AM 7:42 AM 7:38 AM
2013 7:46 AM 7:43 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:40 AM 7:43 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:33 AM 7:43 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:26 AM 7:43 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:29 AM 7:42 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:25 AM 7:42 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:22 AM 7:42 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:25 AM 7:42 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:40 AM 7:42 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:45 AM 7:43 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:23 AM 7:44 AM 7:38 AM
2024 7:12 AM 7:45 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Sierra County were on the road by 7:12 AM, 3 minutes later than in 2009 (7:10 AM). Across California the shift was bigger still, with the typical start moving 6 minutes later. Commuters in Sierra County now leave 25 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Sierra County has moved 9 minutes earlier.

How does Sierra County's commute time compare?

Metric Sierra County California US Average
Avg. Commute Time 16.2 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 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 16.8% 17.2% 15.0%
Walked 1.8% 2.4% 2.4%
Public Transit < 0.1% 2.9% 3.2%

The average commute time in Sierra County is 16.2 minutes, shorter than the 23.5 minutes in California.

0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.9% in California. 1.8% commute by walking, lower than the 2.4% in California.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Sierra County, CA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Sierra County, CA is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 2,746 residents against a local median of 102,481. Sierra County, CA's work from home, at 16.8%, runs 24% below the 22.1% typical of the counties around it.

The counties themselves spread 17.8% on work from home, so Sierra County, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Sierra County, CA has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Sierra County, CA 2,746 16.2 min #2/6 16.8% #4/6 7:12 AM #1/6
Nevada County, CA 102,481 17.7 min 25.0% 7:54 AM
Plumas County, CA 19,423 12.8 min 7.2% 7:24 AM
Placer County, CA 418,934 22.3 min 22.7% 7:38 AM
El Dorado County, CA 192,661 21.5 min 22.1% 7:44 AM
Carson City, NV 58,384 16.8 min 9.8% 7:36 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Sierra County, California.

What is the financial impact of commuting in Sierra County, California?

Commuters here spend an estimated 135 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,181 at a typical national wage. That's 31% less than the typical California commuter spends.

What are the busiest morning travel hours in Sierra County, California?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Sierra County, California. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Sierra County, California?

Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 2.9% in California, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.

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).