Sandy Springs Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Sandy Springs, Georgia: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Sandy Springs: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Sandy Springs spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 188 hours, about 7.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 4% less time on the road than the Georgia average of 23.6 minutes each way, a difference of 1.1 minutes.
Sandy Springs holds about 1.0% of Georgia's population but accounts for roughly 0.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Sandy Springs would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,334 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Springs | 22.6 min | 45.2 min | 188 hrs/yr | $5,834 | 4,275 |
| Georgia | 23.6 min | 47.3 min | 197 hrs/yr | $6,109 | 1,447 |
| 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.
Sandy Springs Commute Map
On average, it takes 22.6 minutes to get to work in Sandy Springs. That's 1% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 32.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Sandy Springs
- Car: 62.0% unusually low
- Worked at Home: 32.1%
- Public Transportation: 2.9%
- Other: 1.2%
- Walked: 0.9%
- Taxi: 0.6%
- Bicycle: 0.2%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Sandy Springs: 5.5 times less than the Georgia average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Driving is 22% less common in Sandy Springs than the Georgia average (62.0% vs 79.8%).
Commute Mode Trends in Sandy Springs, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Sandy Springs 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Public Transportation | Other | Walked | Taxi | Bicycle | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 82.7% | 8.5% | 6.2% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 82.7% | 7.9% | 6.9% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2011 | 81.5% | 8.3% | 7.7% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 82.6% | 7.9% | 7.2% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 81.4% | 7.9% | 8.8% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 83.0% | 7.1% | 7.8% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 82.6% | 8.0% | 7.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 81.8% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 80.7% | 8.2% | 8.4% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2018 | 80.2% | 8.8% | 7.4% | 0.9% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2019 | 79.7% | 8.8% | 7.7% | 1.0% | 1.9% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2020 | 74.5% | 14.4% | 7.6% | 0.7% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 70.1% | 21.2% | 5.1% | 0.9% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 66.1% | 24.9% | 5.6% | 1.0% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 64.2% | 29.2% | 3.6% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 62.0% | 32.1% | 2.9% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2014 at 83.0%. Overall it fell from 82.7% in 2009 to 62.0% in 2024, down 20.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 10 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Sandy Springs: its share of workers rose from 8.5% in 2009 to 32.1% in 2024, up 23.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 23.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 6.2% to 2.9% of workers (down 3.3 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Sandy Springs
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Sandy Springs?
The bars show when commuters in Sandy Springs 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 Georgia for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Sandy Springs1.6%
Georgia5.2%
|
1.6% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Sandy Springs2.2%
Georgia3.9%
|
2.2% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Sandy Springs2.3%
Georgia4.6%
|
2.3% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Sandy Springs4.4%
Georgia9.4%
|
4.4% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Sandy Springs5.8%
Georgia9.6%
|
5.8% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Sandy Springs12.8%
Georgia14.9%
|
12.8% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Sandy Springs13.0%
Georgia11.5%
|
13.0% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Sandy Springs18.7%
Georgia11.6%
|
18.7% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Sandy Springs11.3%
Georgia5.1%
|
11.3% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Sandy Springs13.1%
Georgia6.7%
|
13.1% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Sandy Springs4.0%
Georgia3.1%
|
4.0% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Sandy Springs1.7%
Georgia1.4%
|
1.7% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Sandy Springs4.2%
Georgia6.4%
|
4.2% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Sandy Springs4.8%
Georgia6.7%
|
4.8% |
Sandy Springs Georgia Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Sandy Springs is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 18.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.6% across Georgia. Early starts are less common than in Georgia: 6.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Georgia: 50.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.5% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (27.9%) 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 Sandy Springs, 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 Sandy Springs 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 Sandy Springs next to Georgia 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Sandy Springs | Georgia | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 8:08 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 8:09 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 8:11 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 8:13 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 8:13 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 8:11 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 8:09 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 8:05 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 8:02 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:56 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:55 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:56 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:59 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 8:03 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 8:10 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 8:13 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Sandy Springs were on the road by 8:13 AM, 4 minutes later than in 2009 (8:08 AM). Across Georgia, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Sandy Springs now leave 35 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 Sandy Springs has moved 18 minutes later.
How does Sandy Springs's commute time compare?
| Metric | Sandy Springs | Georgia | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 22.6 min | 23.6 min | 22.4 min |
| Departure Window | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM |
| Secondary Departure Window | 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 32.1% | 15.9% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 0.9% | 1.3% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 2.9% | 1.1% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Sandy Springs is 22.6 minutes, shorter than the 23.6 minutes in Georgia.
2.9% commute by public transit, higher than the 1.1% in Georgia. 0.9% commute by walking, lower than the 1.3% in Georgia.
Sandy Springs, GA Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
Sandy Springs, GA is the largest of the 5 cities compared here, 106,483 residents against a local median of 55,027. Nothing separates Sandy Springs, GA sharply from the cities around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 5% above the local median at 32.1% against 30.6%. Sandy Springs, GA has the 2nd highest work from home of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Springs, GA | 106,483 | 22.6 min #1/5 | 32.1% #2/5 | 8:13 AM #5/5 |
| Dunwoody, GA | 51,089 | 23.6 min | 33.7% | 8:11 AM |
| Brookhaven, GA | 58,965 | 22.9 min | 29.2% | 8:07 AM |
| Chamblee, GA | 28,693 | 23.9 min | 18.9% | 8:00 AM |
| Roswell, GA | 93,449 | 23.7 min | 32.1% | 8:03 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Sandy Springs, Georgia?
Commuters here spend an estimated 188 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,834 at a typical national wage. That's 4% less than the typical Georgia commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Sandy Springs, Georgia?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
How much time do residents in Sandy Springs, Georgia save by working from home?
About 32.1% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Sandy Springs would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,334 at the same national wage assumption used above.