Commuting in La Plata 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, 7:56 PM
How much time do drivers in La Plata County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 7:56 PM
Commute Time Burden in La Plata County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in La Plata County spend about 36 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 152 hours, about 6.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 17% less time on the road than the Colorado average of 22.0 minutes each way, a difference of 3.8 minutes.
La Plata County holds about 1.0% of Colorado's population but accounts for roughly 0.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in La Plata County would save about 61 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,882 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)
La Plata County
18.2 min
36.4 min
152 hrs/yr
$4,705
566
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
18.2
minutes to get to work in
La Plata County.
That's 19% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 18.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in La Plata County
Car:
73.9%
Worked at Home:
18.1%
Walked:
4.5%
Bicycle:
2.3%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.2%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in La Plata County: 8.8 times less than the Colorado average (0.2% vs 1.6%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in La Plata County, versus 0.1% in Colorado.
Commute Mode Trends in La Plata County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in La Plata 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
Bicycle
Other
Public Transportation
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
84.0%
8.0%
3.5%
2.6%
0.6%
0.7%
0.6%
0.0%
2010
83.2%
8.6%
3.6%
2.6%
0.4%
1.0%
0.6%
0.0%
2011
83.3%
8.3%
3.7%
2.4%
0.5%
1.1%
0.7%
0.0%
2012
82.1%
8.5%
3.8%
2.6%
0.9%
1.4%
0.7%
0.0%
2013
81.5%
8.0%
4.3%
2.9%
0.8%
1.8%
0.7%
0.0%
2014
82.1%
7.0%
4.8%
2.6%
1.2%
2.0%
0.4%
0.0%
2015
81.6%
6.1%
5.2%
3.3%
1.1%
2.1%
0.5%
0.0%
2016
82.2%
6.5%
5.1%
2.9%
1.1%
1.8%
0.4%
0.0%
2017
83.0%
6.8%
5.6%
2.4%
0.8%
1.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2018
82.2%
8.2%
5.6%
2.5%
0.7%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
2019
80.6%
8.8%
5.6%
3.2%
0.6%
0.9%
0.3%
0.0%
2020
78.5%
11.8%
5.2%
3.0%
0.6%
0.8%
0.2%
0.0%
2021
77.1%
14.3%
4.7%
2.5%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
76.2%
15.7%
4.1%
2.4%
0.9%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
74.2%
17.9%
4.4%
2.2%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
73.9%
18.1%
4.5%
2.3%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 84.0% in 2009 to 73.9% in 2024, down 10.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in La Plata County: its share of workers rose from 8.0% in 2009 to 18.1% in 2024, up 10.1 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Riding a motorcycle lost the most ground, falling from 0.6% to 0.1% of workers (down 0.5 percentage points).
Public transit peaked at 2.1% in 2015 and has since fallen back to 0.2%.
Commute Start Times in La Plata County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in La Plata County?
The bars show when commuters in La Plata 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 AMLa Plata County3.2%Colorado4.6%
3.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMLa Plata County1.3%Colorado3.6%
1.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMLa Plata County4.2%Colorado5.0%
4.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMLa Plata County4.8%Colorado8.5%
4.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMLa Plata County8.4%Colorado10.2%
8.4%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMLa Plata County17.0%Colorado15.3%
17.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMLa Plata County17.7%Colorado12.8%
17.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMLa Plata County15.7%Colorado11.8%
15.7%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMLa Plata County7.0%Colorado5.4%
7.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMLa Plata County6.7%Colorado6.9%
6.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMLa Plata County3.7%Colorado3.2%
3.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMLa Plata County1.2%Colorado1.5%
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMLa Plata County4.2%Colorado6.0%
4.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMLa Plata County4.9%Colorado5.2%
4.9%
La Plata CountyColoradoSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in La Plata County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 17.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.8% across Colorado. Early starts are less common than in Colorado: 8.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Colorado: 58.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.1% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (20.7%) 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 La Plata 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 La Plata 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 La Plata 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
La Plata County
Colorado
United States
2009
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:41 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
7:45 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:46 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:47 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
7:43 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:46 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:43 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:47 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:48 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in La Plata County were on the road by 7:49 AM, 7 minutes later than in 2009 (7:42 AM). Across Colorado, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in La Plata County now leave 11 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 La Plata County has moved 6 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for La Plata County in the whole series.
How does La Plata County's commute time compare?
Metric
La Plata County
Colorado
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.2 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
18.1%
21.0%
15.0%
Walked
4.5%
2.5%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.2%
1.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in La Plata County is 18.2 minutes, shorter than the 22.0 minutes in Colorado.
0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.6% in Colorado. 4.5% commute by walking, higher than the 2.5% in Colorado.
La Plata County, CO Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
La Plata County, CO is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 56,331 residents against a local median of 2,432. La Plata County, CO's one-way commute, at 18.2 min, runs 64% above the 11.1 min typical of the counties around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 11.0 min on one-way commute, so La Plata County, CO sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. La Plata County, CO has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in La Plata County, Colorado.
What is the financial impact of commuting in La Plata County, Colorado?
Commuters here spend an estimated 152 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,705 at a typical national wage. That's 17% less than the typical Colorado commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in La Plata County, Colorado?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in La Plata 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 La Plata County, Colorado?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.2% of commuters use it versus 1.6% in Colorado, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Colorado?
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).