Commerce City Commute Time Map & Patterns
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Commute Time Burden in Commerce City: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Commerce City spend about 60 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 250 hours, about 10.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 36% more time on the road than the Colorado average of 22.0 minutes each way, a difference of 8.0 minutes.
Commerce City holds about 1.1% of Colorado's population but accounts for roughly 1.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Commerce City would save about 100 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,100 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce City | 30.0 min | 60.0 min | 250 hrs/yr | $7,751 | 3,189 |
| 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.
Commerce City Commute Map
On average, it takes 30.0 minutes to get to work in Commerce City. That's 34% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 15.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Commerce City
- Car: 79.8%
- Worked at Home: 15.9%
- Other: 1.3%
- Walked: 1.3%
- Public Transportation: 1.3%
- Bicycle: 0.2% unusually low
- Taxi: 0.1%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Commerce City: 7.2 times less than the Colorado average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Biking is unusually rare in Commerce City: 4.4 times less than the Colorado average (0.2% vs 0.9%).
Commute Mode Trends in Commerce City, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Commerce 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 | Other | Bicycle | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 92.2% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2010 | 92.7% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2011 | 92.8% | 2.6% | 2.0% | 1.4% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2012 | 92.5% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2013 | 91.4% | 3.0% | 2.8% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| 2014 | 91.8% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2015 | 91.5% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2016 | 91.1% | 3.9% | 2.3% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2017 | 90.6% | 4.6% | 2.3% | 0.6% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2018 | 90.8% | 4.8% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 2019 | 90.8% | 5.2% | 1.5% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2020 | 88.8% | 7.6% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2021 | 86.5% | 9.9% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 85.3% | 11.5% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 81.9% | 14.1% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 79.8% | 15.9% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 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 92.8%. Overall it fell from 92.2% in 2009 to 79.8% in 2024, down 12.4 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Commerce City: its share of workers rose from 2.4% in 2009 to 15.9% in 2024, up 13.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 10.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.4% to 1.3% of workers (down 1.1 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Commerce City
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Commerce City?
The bars show when commuters in Commerce 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 Colorado for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Commerce City8.4%
Colorado4.6%
|
8.4% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Commerce City5.9%
Colorado3.6%
|
5.9% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Commerce City7.7%
Colorado5.0%
|
7.7% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Commerce City12.5%
Colorado8.5%
|
12.5% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Commerce City9.7%
Colorado10.2%
|
9.7% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Commerce City15.8%
Colorado15.3%
|
15.8% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Commerce City9.5%
Colorado12.8%
|
9.5% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Commerce City8.7%
Colorado11.8%
|
8.7% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Commerce City1.6%
Colorado5.4%
|
1.6% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Commerce City4.9%
Colorado6.9%
|
4.9% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Commerce City2.7%
Colorado3.2%
|
2.7% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Commerce City0.3%
Colorado1.5%
|
0.3% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Commerce City4.7%
Colorado6.0%
|
4.7% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Commerce City7.7%
Colorado5.2%
|
7.7% |
Commerce City Colorado Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Commerce City is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across Colorado. Early starts are more common than in Colorado: 21.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.1% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Colorado: 43.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.1% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (20.3%) 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 Commerce 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 Commerce 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 Commerce City 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Commerce City | Colorado | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:08 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:09 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:08 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:07 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:11 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:09 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:13 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:14 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:10 AM | 7:33 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:09 AM | 7:33 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:10 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:07 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:09 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:13 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:14 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:11 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Commerce City were on the road by 7:11 AM, 3 minutes later than in 2009 (7:08 AM). Across Colorado, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Commerce City now leave 27 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Commerce City's commute time compare?
| Metric | Commerce City | Colorado | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 30.0 min | 22.0 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 | 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 15.9% | 21.0% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.3% | 2.5% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.3% | 1.6% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Commerce City is 30.0 minutes, longer than the 22.0 minutes in Colorado.
1.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.6% in Colorado. 1.3% commute by walking, lower than the 2.5% in Colorado.
Commerce City, CO Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
Commerce City, CO is the 3rd largest of the 4 cities compared here, 65,816 residents against a local median of 134,665. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest cities, which makes Commerce City, CO an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 9% above the local median at 15.9% against 14.6%. Commerce City, CO has the 2nd highest work from home of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce City, CO | 65,816 | 30.0 min #3/4 | 15.9% #2/4 | 7:11 AM #2/4 |
| Denver, CO | 718,150 | 22.9 min | 27.3% | 7:47 AM |
| Thornton, CO | 134,665 | 28.6 min | 14.6% | 7:21 AM |
| Brighton, CO | 37,322 | 30.7 min | 13.3% | 6:58 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Commerce City, Colorado.
Is commuting expensive in Commerce City, Colorado?
Commuters here spend an estimated 250 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,751 at a typical national wage. That's 36% more than the typical Colorado commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Commerce City, Colorado?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Commerce City, Colorado. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.