Erie Commute Time Map & Patterns

Help

Commuting in Erie, Colorado: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

Updated 22 September 2026

You 11/2/26, 6:22 PM

Is the commute in Erie longer than the national average?

Map AI 11/2/26, 6:22 PM

Commute Time Burden in Erie: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Erie spend about 47 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 194 hours, about 8.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 6% more time on the road than the Colorado average of 22.0 minutes each way, a difference of 1.2 minutes.

Erie holds about 0.4% of Colorado's population and accounts for roughly 0.4% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Erie would save about 78 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,404 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)
Erie	23.3 min	46.5 min	194 hrs/yr	$6,011	2,266
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.

Erie Commute Map

On average, it takes 23.3 minutes to get to work in Erie. That's 4% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 33.1% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Erie

Public transit is unusually rare in Erie: 5.4 times less than the Colorado average (0.3% vs 1.6%).

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Erie, versus 0.1% in Colorado.

Biking is unusually rare in Erie: 5.0 times less than the Colorado average (0.2% vs 0.9%).

Commute Mode Trends in Erie, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Erie 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	Other	Public Transportation	Motorcycle	Bicycle	Taxi
2009	88.7%	7.4%	0.8%	0.7%	2.0%	0.3%	0.2%	0.0%
2010	88.2%	8.2%	0.8%	0.4%	1.7%	0.3%	0.4%	0.0%
2011	87.3%	8.6%	1.5%	0.4%	1.5%	0.2%	0.4%	0.0%
2012	85.0%	10.2%	1.7%	0.9%	1.8%	0.2%	0.3%	0.0%
2013	83.4%	11.6%	1.5%	1.2%	1.7%	0.2%	0.3%	0.0%
2014	82.7%	11.6%	2.0%	1.4%	1.9%	0.1%	0.2%	0.0%
2015	83.2%	10.7%	2.3%	1.4%	2.2%	0.2%	0.1%	0.0%
2016	83.4%	11.1%	1.4%	1.3%	2.4%	0.1%	0.4%	0.0%
2017	83.2%	11.6%	1.3%	1.0%	2.4%	0.1%	0.4%	0.0%
2018	83.9%	11.6%	1.2%	0.7%	2.3%	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%
2019	80.3%	14.5%	1.2%	0.6%	3.1%	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%
2020	76.7%	19.0%	1.0%	0.6%	2.4%	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%
2021	73.1%	22.9%	1.1%	0.8%	2.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
2022	70.1%	26.6%	1.0%	0.6%	1.4%	0.1%	0.2%	0.0%
2023	65.8%	31.0%	1.0%	0.6%	1.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%
2024	64.5%	33.1%	1.0%	0.8%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 88.7% in 2009 to 64.5% in 2024, down 24.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Erie: its share of workers rose from 7.4% in 2009 to 33.1% in 2024, up 25.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 18.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.0% to 0.3% of workers (down 1.7 percentage points).

Walking overtook public transit to become the 3rd most common choice in the 2024 release and has stayed ahead since.

Walking peaked at 2.3% in 2015 and has since fallen back to 1.0%.

Commute Start Times in Erie

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Erie?

The bars show when commuters in Erie 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		2.4%
5:00-5:29 AM		1.8%
5:30-5:59 AM		3.4%
6:00-6:29 AM		6.4%
6:30-6:59 AM		10.3%
7:00-7:29 AM		13.2%
7:30-7:59 AM		18.9%
8:00-8:29 AM		15.7%
8:30-8:59 AM		4.3%
9:00-9:59 AM		8.6%
10:00-10:59 AM		6.5%
11:00-11:59 AM		0.7%
12:00-3:59 PM		4.0%
4:00-11:59 PM		3.7%

Erie Colorado Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Erie is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.9% 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: 58.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.5%) 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 Erie, 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 Erie 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 Erie 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	Erie	Colorado	United States
2009	7:43 AM	7:37 AM	7:37 AM
2010	7:46 AM	7:37 AM	7:38 AM
2011	7:43 AM	7:38 AM	7:38 AM
2012	7:42 AM	7:37 AM	7:38 AM
2013	7:43 AM	7:37 AM	7:39 AM
2014	7:41 AM	7:36 AM	7:39 AM
2015	7:36 AM	7:35 AM	7:38 AM
2016	7:39 AM	7:34 AM	7:38 AM
2017	7:44 AM	7:33 AM	7:38 AM
2018	7:42 AM	7:33 AM	7:37 AM
2019	7:40 AM	7:34 AM	7:37 AM
2020	7:41 AM	7:35 AM	7:37 AM
2021	7:43 AM	7:35 AM	7:37 AM
2022	7:42 AM	7:36 AM	7:37 AM
2023	7:45 AM	7:37 AM	7:38 AM
2024	7:50 AM	7:37 AM	7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Erie were on the road by 7:50 AM, 6 minutes later than in 2009 (7:43 AM). Across Colorado, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Erie now leave 12 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 Erie has moved 10 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Erie in the whole series.

How does Erie's commute time compare?

Metric	Erie	Colorado	US Average
Avg. Commute Time	23.3 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	08:00 AM – 08:29 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home	33.1%	21.0%	15.0%
Walked	1.0%	2.5%	2.4%
Public Transit	0.3%	1.6%	3.2%

The average commute time in Erie is 23.3 minutes, longer than the 22.0 minutes in Colorado.

0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.6% in Colorado. 1.0% commute by walking, lower than the 2.5% in Colorado.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Erie, CO Commute Compared With Nearby Cities

How Erie, CO compares with the 1 cities closest to it.

Area	Population	One-way commute	Work from home	Typical departure
Erie, CO	24,140	23.3 min #2/2	33.1% #1/2	7:50 AM #1/2
Broomfield, CO	76,293	22.9 min	29.9%	7:51 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Erie, Colorado.

Is living in Erie, Colorado good for avoiding long commute costs?

Commuters here spend an estimated 194 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,011 at a typical national wage. That's 6% more than the typical Colorado commuter spends.

When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Erie, Colorado?

Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Erie, Colorado. 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.

Do people use public transit in Erie, Colorado?

Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.3% of commuters use it versus 1.6% in Colorado, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.

How much money can remote workers save in Erie, Colorado?

About 33.1% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Erie would save about 78 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,404 at the same national wage assumption used above.