Commuting in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 3:32 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:32 PM
Commute Time Burden in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region spend about 52 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 217 hours, about 9.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 18% more time on the road than the Connecticut average of 22.1 minutes each way, a difference of 3.9 minutes.
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region holds about 2.3% of Connecticut's population but accounts for roughly 2.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region would save about 87 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,685 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)
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
26.0 min
52.0 min
217 hrs/yr
$6,712
1,087
Connecticut
22.1 min
44.2 min
184 hrs/yr
$5,704
1,748
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
26.0
minutes to get to work in
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region.
That's 16% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slowest county in Connecticut
The most common departure window is 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 12.4% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Car:
85.5%
Worked at Home:
12.4%
Other:
0.9%
Walked:
0.8%unusually low
Public Transportation:
0.3%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Walking is unusually rare in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: 3.0 times less than the Connecticut average (0.8% vs 2.3%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: 10.0 times less than the Connecticut average (0.3% vs 3.2%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, versus 0.3% in Connecticut.
Biking is unusually rare in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: 5.5 times less than the Connecticut average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Few people walk or bike to work in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: just 0.8%, 3.1 times below the Connecticut average of 2.5%.
Commute Mode Trends in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region 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
Other
Walked
Public Transportation
Motorcycle
Taxi
Bicycle
2009
93.6%
3.2%
0.4%
1.8%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
93.8%
3.2%
0.4%
1.7%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
2011
93.8%
3.2%
0.3%
1.8%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
2012
94.1%
3.2%
0.3%
1.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2013
93.8%
3.4%
0.4%
1.9%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
93.8%
3.5%
0.4%
1.8%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2015
93.1%
3.8%
0.4%
2.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
92.8%
4.2%
0.5%
1.9%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
92.8%
4.4%
0.6%
1.5%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
92.6%
4.6%
0.8%
1.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2019
92.6%
5.0%
0.6%
1.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2020
91.2%
6.3%
0.7%
1.2%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
89.7%
8.2%
0.7%
1.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2022
88.8%
9.6%
0.7%
0.7%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
87.1%
11.3%
0.7%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
85.5%
12.4%
0.9%
0.8%
0.3%
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 2012 at 94.1%. Overall it fell from 93.6% in 2009 to 85.5% in 2024, down 8.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: its share of workers rose from 3.2% in 2009 to 12.4% in 2024, up 9.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 7.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 1.8% to 0.8% of workers (down 1.0 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
🐦Early BirdThe earliest start among Connecticut's 9 counties: half of commuters are on the road by 7:28 AM.
🌅Dawn PatrolThe highest share of pre-6 AM departures among Connecticut's 9 counties: 17.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region?
The bars show when commuters in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region 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 Connecticut for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
Northeastern Connecticut Planning RegionConnecticutSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region is 6:30-6:59 AM, when 12.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 10.2% across Connecticut. Early starts are more common than in Connecticut: 17.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.9% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Connecticut: 46.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.6% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.5%) 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region next to Connecticut 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
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Connecticut
United States
2009
7:27 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:25 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:27 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:30 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:28 AM
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:28 AM
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:28 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:27 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:26 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:26 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:25 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:23 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:21 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:24 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:25 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:28 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region were on the road by 7:28 AM, 1 minute later than in 2009 (7:27 AM). Connecticut followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes later. Commuters in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region now leave 10 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region has moved 3 minutes later.
How does Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region's commute time compare?
Metric
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Connecticut
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
26.0 min
22.1 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
06:30 AM – 06:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
12.4%
16.2%
15.0%
Walked
0.8%
2.3%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
3.2%
3.2%
The average commute time in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region is 26.0 minutes, longer than the 22.1 minutes in Connecticut.
0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.2% in Connecticut. 0.8% commute by walking, lower than the 2.3% in Connecticut.
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 78,384 residents against a local median of 252,265. Where Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 15% above the local median of 22.5 min at 26.0 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 3.3 min on one-way commute, so Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut.
Is living in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 217 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,712 at a typical national wage. That's 18% more than the typical Connecticut commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut?
Traffic peaks between 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut. 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.
How common is public transit use in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.3% of commuters use it versus 3.2% in Connecticut, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Connecticut?
Among counties in Connecticut, the shortest average commutes are in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region (20.6 min), South Central Connecticut Planning Region (20.9 min), Capitol Planning Region (21.4 min). The longest are in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region (26.0 min), Greater Bridgeport Planning Region (23.9 min), Naugatuck Valley Planning Region (23.5 min).