Hawaii Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Hawaii: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Hawaii: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Hawaii spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 190 hours, about 7.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 2% more time on the road than the US average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 0.4 minutes.
Hawaii holds about 0.4% of US's population and accounts for roughly 0.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Hawaii would save about 76 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,353 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 22.8 min | 45.5 min | 190 hrs/yr | $5,883 | 2,478 |
| US | 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.
Commute Time Map: Hawaii Counties
- Kalawao County (4.4 min)
- Maui County (18.9 min)
- Kauai County (21.4 min)
- Honolulu County (23.5 min)
- Hawaii County (21.4 min)
- Kauai County (21.4 min)
Compare commute times among different counties
On average, it takes 22.8 minutes to get to work in Hawaii. That's 2% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 76% of states in US
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 9.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Hawaii
- Car: 79.1%
- Worked at Home: 9.6%
- Walked: 4.2%
- Public Transportation: 3.8%
- Other: 1.6%
- Bicycle: 0.9%
- Motorcycle: 0.5% unusually high
- Taxi: 0.2%
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Hawaii: 4.3 times more than the US average (0.5% vs 0.1%).
Commute Mode Trends in Hawaii, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Hawaii 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 | Walked | Public Transportation | Other | Bicycle | Motorcycle | Taxi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 82.4% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 5.6% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 2010 | 81.9% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 6.0% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 2011 | 81.6% | 4.7% | 4.6% | 6.1% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 81.2% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 6.2% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 81.0% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 6.3% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 80.8% | 4.5% | 4.6% | 6.5% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| 2015 | 80.9% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 6.5% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| 2016 | 80.8% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 6.7% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| 2017 | 80.9% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 6.6% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 2018 | 81.0% | 4.8% | 4.5% | 6.5% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 2019 | 81.5% | 4.8% | 4.5% | 6.2% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 2020 | 81.1% | 5.8% | 4.6% | 5.5% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 80.8% | 6.9% | 4.3% | 4.9% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 80.4% | 8.0% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| 2023 | 79.8% | 8.8% | 4.2% | 4.1% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 2024 | 79.1% | 9.6% | 4.2% | 3.8% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.2% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 82.4% in 2009 to 79.1% in 2024, down 3.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Hawaii: its share of workers rose from 4.6% in 2009 to 9.6% in 2024, up 5.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 4.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 5.6% to 3.8% of workers (down 1.8 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Hawaii
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Hawaii?
The bars show when commuters in Hawaii 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 the U.S. for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Hawaii6.7%
The U.S.5.5%
|
6.7% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Hawaii5.6%
The U.S.4.0%
|
5.6% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Hawaii6.7%
The U.S.4.9%
|
6.7% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Hawaii11.1%
The U.S.8.7%
|
11.1% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Hawaii11.0%
The U.S.9.4%
|
11.0% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Hawaii14.5%
The U.S.14.4%
|
14.5% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Hawaii9.4%
The U.S.11.9%
|
9.4% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Hawaii9.3%
The U.S.11.5%
|
9.3% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Hawaii3.8%
The U.S.5.5%
|
3.8% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Hawaii6.2%
The U.S.6.8%
|
6.2% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Hawaii2.8%
The U.S.3.1%
|
2.8% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Hawaii1.5%
The U.S.1.5%
|
1.5% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Hawaii6.9%
The U.S.6.8%
|
6.9% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Hawaii4.4%
The U.S.6.1%
|
4.4% |
Hawaii The U.S. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Hawaii is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.4% across the U.S.. Early starts are more common than in the U.S.: 19.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.4% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in the U.S.: 44.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.9%) 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 Hawaii, 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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii next to 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 | Hawaii | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:11 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:12 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:13 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:13 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:14 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:14 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:14 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:14 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:14 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:14 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:15 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:15 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:16 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:17 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:18 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:18 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Hawaii were on the road by 7:18 AM, 7 minutes later than in 2009 (7:11 AM). Commuters in Hawaii now leave 19 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 Hawaii has moved 4 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Hawaii in the whole series.
How does Hawaii's commute time compare?
| Metric | Hawaii | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 22.8 min | 22.4 min |
| Work From Home | 9.6% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 4.2% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 3.8% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Hawaii is 22.8 minutes, longer than the 22.4 minutes in US.
3.8% commute by public transit, higher than the 3.2% in US. 4.2% commute by walking, higher than the 2.4% in US.
Hawaii Commute Compared With Nearby States
Hawaii is the 4th largest of the 5 states compared here, 1,440,047 residents against a local median of 3,718,004. Where Hawaii breaks from the states next to it is work from home, sitting 34% below the local median of 14.6% at 9.6%.
The states themselves spread 9.2% on work from home, so Hawaii sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Hawaii has the 5th highest work from home of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 1,440,047 | 22.8 min #4/5 | 9.6% #5/5 | 7:18 AM #1/5 |
| California | 39,245,658 | 23.5 min | 17.2% | 7:45 AM |
| Alaska | 735,577 | 16.1 min | 9.7% | 7:43 AM |
| Oregon | 4,252,306 | 20.1 min | 19.0% | 7:41 AM |
| Nevada | 3,183,702 | 22.4 min | 11.9% | 7:40 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Hawaii.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Hawaii?
Commuters here spend an estimated 190 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,883 at a typical national wage. That's 2% more than the typical US commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Hawaii?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Hawaii. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Hawaii?
Among counties in Hawaii, the shortest average commutes are in Kalawao County (4.4 min), Maui County (18.9 min), Kauai County (21.4 min). The longest are in Honolulu County (23.5 min), Hawaii County (21.4 min), Kauai County (21.4 min).