Commuting in Monroe County, Florida: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:13 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Monroe County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:13 PM
Commute Time Burden in Monroe County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Monroe County spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 134 hours, about 5.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 33% less time on the road than the Florida average of 24.0 minutes each way, a difference of 7.9 minutes.
Monroe County holds about 0.4% of Florida's population but accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Monroe County would save about 54 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,662 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)
Monroe County
16.1 min
32.2 min
134 hrs/yr
$4,154
947
Florida
24.0 min
47.9 min
200 hrs/yr
$6,189
3,068
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
16.1
minutes to get to work in
Monroe County.
That's 28% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 3 fastest counties in Florida
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 13.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Monroe County
Car:
73.2%
Worked at Home:
13.2%
Bicycle:
4.6%unusually high
Walked:
4.2%unusually high
Other:
2.3%
Motorcycle:
1.8%unusually high
Public Transportation:
0.4%
Taxi:
0.3%
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Monroe County: 9.6 times more than the Florida average (1.8% vs 0.2%).
Walking is unusually common in Monroe County: 3.0 times more than the Florida average (4.2% vs 1.4%).
Biking is unusually common in Monroe County: 9.6 times more than the Florida average (4.6% vs 0.5%).
Monroe County stands out for active commuting: 8.8% of workers walk or bike to work, 4.7 times the Florida average of 1.9%.
Commute Mode Trends in Monroe County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Monroe 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
Bicycle
Walked
Other
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
2009
77.0%
6.3%
5.5%
4.7%
3.8%
1.2%
1.4%
0.1%
2010
75.2%
6.0%
6.7%
4.0%
4.6%
2.1%
1.4%
0.0%
2011
75.8%
6.5%
6.0%
4.1%
4.6%
1.7%
1.2%
0.1%
2012
74.7%
6.7%
7.2%
3.8%
3.8%
1.7%
1.9%
0.4%
2013
74.4%
5.8%
7.8%
4.8%
2.8%
1.7%
2.1%
0.5%
2014
75.7%
5.7%
7.6%
4.8%
2.0%
1.3%
2.4%
0.5%
2015
77.1%
5.6%
6.7%
4.4%
2.0%
1.5%
2.2%
0.5%
2016
76.9%
5.4%
6.9%
4.2%
2.2%
1.3%
2.3%
0.8%
2017
76.8%
5.9%
6.3%
4.6%
2.3%
1.4%
1.9%
0.9%
2018
77.5%
6.2%
6.0%
4.2%
2.4%
1.3%
1.5%
0.9%
2019
76.0%
6.4%
6.9%
4.7%
2.4%
1.8%
1.0%
0.9%
2020
75.4%
7.7%
6.4%
5.3%
2.1%
1.6%
0.8%
0.7%
2021
75.2%
8.9%
5.7%
5.2%
2.2%
1.8%
0.3%
0.7%
2022
75.1%
10.3%
5.4%
4.2%
1.8%
2.4%
0.4%
0.5%
2023
73.5%
11.2%
5.5%
4.8%
1.9%
2.4%
0.3%
0.3%
2024
73.2%
13.2%
4.6%
4.2%
2.3%
1.8%
0.4%
0.3%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2018 at 77.5%. Overall it fell from 77.0% in 2009 to 73.2% in 2024, down 3.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Monroe County: its share of workers rose from 6.3% in 2009 to 13.2% in 2024, up 6.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.4% to 0.4% of workers (down 1.0 percentage points).
Riding a motorcycle overtook public transit to become the 6th most common choice in the 2019 release and has stayed ahead since.
Biking peaked at 7.8% in 2013 and has since fallen back to 4.6%.
Commute Start Times in Monroe County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Monroe County?
The bars show when commuters in Monroe 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 Florida for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMMonroe County2.6%Florida4.7%
2.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMonroe County1.8%Florida3.5%
1.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMonroe County1.8%Florida4.0%
1.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMonroe County6.7%Florida9.1%
6.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMonroe County10.5%Florida8.9%
10.5%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMonroe County15.5%Florida15.1%
15.5%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMonroe County14.0%Florida10.6%
14.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMonroe County13.9%Florida13.1%
13.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMonroe County5.9%Florida5.8%
5.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMonroe County10.8%Florida8.0%
10.8%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMonroe County3.7%Florida3.5%
3.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMonroe County1.5%Florida1.5%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMonroe County5.7%Florida6.3%
5.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMonroe County5.8%Florida5.9%
5.8%
Monroe CountyFloridaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Monroe County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.1% across Florida. Early starts are less common than in Florida: 6.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.2% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Florida: 53.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.7% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (27.4%) 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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County next to Florida 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
Monroe County
Florida
United States
2009
7:55 AM
7:41 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:58 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2011
8:03 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2012
8:02 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2013
8:03 AM
7:47 AM
7:39 AM
2014
8:07 AM
7:47 AM
7:39 AM
2015
8:06 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2016
8:03 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2017
8:04 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2018
8:00 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:59 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:58 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:59 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:57 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:57 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:54 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Monroe County were on the road by 7:54 AM, 1 minute earlier than in 2009 (7:55 AM). That goes against the trend across Florida, where the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Monroe County now leave 16 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 Monroe County has moved 5 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Monroe County in the whole series.
How does Monroe County's commute time compare?
Metric
Monroe County
Florida
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
16.1 min
24.0 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
13.2%
15.7%
15.0%
Walked
4.2%
1.4%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
1.2%
3.2%
The average commute time in Monroe County is 16.1 minutes, shorter than the 24.0 minutes in Florida.
0.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.2% in Florida. 4.2% commute by walking, higher than the 1.4% in Florida.
Monroe County, FL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Monroe County, FL is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 81,860 residents against a local median of 815,257. Where Monroe County, FL breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 40% below the local median of 26.7 min at 16.1 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 7.7 min on one-way commute, so Monroe County, FL sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Monroe County, FL has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Monroe County, Florida.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Monroe County, Florida?
Commuters here spend an estimated 134 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,154 at a typical national wage. That's 33% less than the typical Florida commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Monroe County, Florida?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Monroe County, Florida. 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.
How do commute times compare across counties in Florida?
Among counties in Florida, the shortest average commutes are in Taylor County (13.8 min), Monroe County (16.1 min), Franklin County (16.6 min). The longest are in Washington County (32.8 min), Osceola County (32.3 min), Liberty County (32.1 min).