Commuting in Chaffee County, Colorado: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:04 PM
Is the commute in Chaffee County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:04 PM
Commute Time Burden in Chaffee County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Chaffee County spend about 23 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 96 hours, about 4.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 48% less time on the road than the Colorado average of 22.0 minutes each way, a difference of 10.5 minutes.
Chaffee County holds about 0.3% of Colorado's population but accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Chaffee County would save about 38 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,188 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)
Chaffee County
11.5 min
23.0 min
96 hrs/yr
$2,970
543
Colorado
22.0 min
44.1 min
184 hrs/yr
$5,694
1,277
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
11.5
minutes to get to work in
Chaffee County.
That's 49% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 81% of counties in Colorado
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 24.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Chaffee County
Car:
67.1%
Worked at Home:
24.5%
Bicycle:
4.1%unusually high
Walked:
3.5%
Other:
0.7%
Taxi:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Chaffee County, versus 0.1% in Colorado.
Public transit is essentially absent in Chaffee County, versus 1.6% in Colorado.
Biking is unusually common in Chaffee County: 4.5 times more than the Colorado average (4.1% vs 0.9%).
Commute Mode Trends in Chaffee County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Chaffee 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
Bicycle
Walked
Other
Taxi
Public Transportation
Motorcycle
2009
75.8%
12.8%
0.9%
7.5%
1.6%
0.0%
0.1%
1.3%
2010
77.2%
13.8%
0.8%
6.5%
1.1%
0.0%
0.1%
0.5%
2011
79.1%
12.1%
1.4%
6.0%
0.8%
0.0%
0.1%
0.5%
2012
80.5%
10.4%
3.0%
4.7%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
0.3%
2013
80.6%
11.0%
3.4%
4.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
79.8%
10.8%
4.7%
4.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2015
78.1%
11.6%
5.9%
4.2%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2016
78.4%
11.2%
5.9%
4.2%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2017
79.0%
10.2%
5.8%
4.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2018
77.0%
11.8%
5.7%
4.8%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.2%
2019
77.9%
13.5%
2.9%
4.3%
1.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
2020
76.2%
13.5%
3.1%
5.1%
1.4%
0.0%
0.5%
0.1%
2021
75.4%
16.1%
1.7%
4.6%
1.5%
0.0%
0.6%
0.1%
2022
73.4%
17.7%
2.4%
4.7%
1.5%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2023
70.6%
19.6%
4.3%
4.0%
1.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
67.1%
24.5%
4.1%
3.5%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2013 at 80.6%. Overall it fell from 75.8% in 2009 to 67.1% in 2024, down 8.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Chaffee County: its share of workers rose from 12.8% in 2009 to 24.5% in 2024, up 11.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 7.5% to 3.5% of workers (down 4.0 percentage points).
Biking overtook walking to become the 3rd most common choice in the 2023 release and has stayed ahead since.
Biking peaked at 5.9% in 2015 and has since fallen back to 4.1%.
Commute Start Times in Chaffee County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Chaffee County?
The bars show when commuters in Chaffee 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 Colorado for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMChaffee County1.9%Colorado4.6%
1.9%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMChaffee County3.9%Colorado3.6%
3.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMChaffee County1.8%Colorado5.0%
1.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMChaffee County3.4%Colorado8.5%
3.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMChaffee County12.5%Colorado10.2%
12.5%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMChaffee County17.7%Colorado15.3%
17.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMChaffee County18.3%Colorado12.8%
18.3%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMChaffee County14.1%Colorado11.8%
14.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMChaffee County4.5%Colorado5.4%
4.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMChaffee County5.5%Colorado6.9%
5.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMChaffee County2.4%Colorado3.2%
2.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMChaffee County0.7%Colorado1.5%
0.7%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMChaffee County8.4%Colorado6.0%
8.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMChaffee County4.9%Colorado5.2%
4.9%
Chaffee CountyColoradoSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Chaffee County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.8% across Colorado. Early starts are less common than in Colorado: 7.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Colorado: 62.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.1% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.9%) 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 Chaffee 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 Chaffee 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 Chaffee County next to Colorado 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
Chaffee County
Colorado
United States
2009
7:52 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:52 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:48 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:45 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:44 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:46 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:47 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:51 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:53 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:57 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:55 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Chaffee County were on the road by 7:44 AM, 8 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:52 AM). Across Colorado, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Chaffee County now leave 7 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 Chaffee County has moved 6 minutes earlier.
How does Chaffee County's commute time compare?
Metric
Chaffee County
Colorado
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
11.5 min
22.0 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
24.5%
21.0%
15.0%
Walked
3.5%
2.5%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
1.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Chaffee County is 11.5 minutes, shorter than the 22.0 minutes in Colorado.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.6% in Colorado. 3.5% commute by walking, higher than the 2.5% in Colorado.
Chaffee County, CO Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Chaffee County, CO is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 20,178 residents against a local median of 17,241. Where Chaffee County, CO breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 79% above the local median of 13.7% at 24.5%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 11.5 min against a local median of 16.8 min, 32% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 32% below the local median it puts Chaffee County, CO at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 15.9% on work from home, so Chaffee County, CO sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Chaffee County, CO has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Chaffee County, Colorado.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Chaffee County, Colorado?
Commuters here spend an estimated 96 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,970 at a typical national wage. That's 48% less than the typical Colorado commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Chaffee County, Colorado?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Chaffee County, Colorado. 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.
Do people use public transit in Chaffee County, Colorado?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 1.6% in Colorado, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Which counties in Colorado have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Colorado, the shortest average commutes are in Hinsdale County (6.6 min), Prowers County (7.6 min), Cheyenne County (7.7 min). The longest are in Park County (42.5 min), Elbert County (41.5 min), Teller County (31.3 min).