Commuting in Jefferson County, Colorado: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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What does a typical morning commute look like in Jefferson County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:00 PM
Commute Time Burden in Jefferson County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Jefferson County spend about 47 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 195 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 1.4 minutes.
Jefferson County holds about 9.9% of Colorado's population but accounts for roughly 10.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Jefferson County would save about 78 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,418 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)
Jefferson County
23.4 min
46.8 min
195 hrs/yr
$6,045
2,965
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
23.4
minutes to get to work in
Jefferson County.
That's 4% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 83% of counties in Colorado
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 25.4% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Jefferson County
Car:
70.1%
Worked at Home:
25.4%
Walked:
1.4%
Public Transportation:
1.3%
Other:
0.9%
Bicycle:
0.5%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Jefferson County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Jefferson 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
Walked
Public Transportation
Other
Bicycle
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
86.9%
6.1%
1.7%
3.5%
0.9%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
2010
86.6%
6.5%
1.6%
3.4%
1.0%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2011
86.4%
6.6%
1.6%
3.5%
1.0%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2012
86.4%
6.6%
1.5%
3.3%
1.1%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
2013
86.6%
6.7%
1.6%
3.1%
1.0%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2014
86.6%
6.9%
1.5%
3.2%
0.8%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2015
86.6%
7.0%
1.5%
3.2%
0.7%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2016
86.3%
7.4%
1.6%
3.2%
0.8%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
2017
86.0%
7.8%
1.5%
3.3%
0.7%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
2018
85.4%
8.4%
1.5%
3.4%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
84.6%
9.1%
1.5%
3.4%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
81.9%
12.2%
1.5%
2.9%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
78.7%
16.1%
1.3%
2.4%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
75.8%
19.4%
1.3%
2.0%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
72.8%
22.3%
1.4%
1.7%
1.0%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
70.1%
25.4%
1.4%
1.3%
0.9%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 86.9% in 2009 to 70.1% in 2024, down 16.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 9 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Jefferson County: its share of workers rose from 6.1% in 2009 to 25.4% in 2024, up 19.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 16.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 3.5% to 1.3% of workers (down 2.2 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Jefferson County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Jefferson County?
The bars show when commuters in Jefferson 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 AMJefferson County3.9%Colorado4.6%
3.9%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMJefferson County3.1%Colorado3.6%
3.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMJefferson County4.9%Colorado5.0%
4.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMJefferson County8.7%Colorado8.5%
8.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMJefferson County10.1%Colorado10.2%
10.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMJefferson County15.9%Colorado15.3%
15.9%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMJefferson County12.6%Colorado12.8%
12.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMJefferson County12.6%Colorado11.8%
12.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMJefferson County5.3%Colorado5.4%
5.3%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMJefferson County7.3%Colorado6.9%
7.3%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMJefferson County3.5%Colorado3.2%
3.5%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMJefferson County1.5%Colorado1.5%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMJefferson County6.2%Colorado6.0%
6.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMJefferson County4.4%Colorado5.2%
4.4%
Jefferson CountyColoradoSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Jefferson County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across Colorado. Early starts are less common than in Colorado: 11.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.1% there. The morning rush looks much like Colorado's: 51.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (22.9%) 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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
Jefferson County
Colorado
United States
2009
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:30 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:30 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:30 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:30 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:30 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:31 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:32 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:32 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:34 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:38 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Jefferson County were on the road by 7:38 AM, 6 minutes later than in 2009 (7:33 AM). Across Colorado, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Jefferson County now leave at about the same time as the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Jefferson County has moved 7 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Jefferson County in the whole series.
How does Jefferson County's commute time compare?
Metric
Jefferson County
Colorado
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
23.4 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
25.4%
21.0%
15.0%
Walked
1.4%
2.5%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.3%
1.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Jefferson County is 23.4 minutes, longer than the 22.0 minutes in Colorado.
1.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.6% in Colorado. 1.4% commute by walking, lower than the 2.5% in Colorado.
Jefferson County, CO Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Jefferson County, CO is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 579,346 residents against a local median of 76,305. Jefferson County, CO sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 7% below the local median at 25.4% against 27.3%. Jefferson County, CO has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Jefferson County, Colorado.
Is commuting expensive in Jefferson County, Colorado?
Commuters here spend an estimated 195 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,045 at a typical national wage. That's 6% more than the typical Colorado commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Jefferson County, Colorado?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Jefferson County, Colorado. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
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).