Commuting in Boone County, Iowa: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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How much time do drivers in Boone County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:22 PM
Commute Time Burden in Boone County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Boone County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 173 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 22% more time on the road than the Iowa average of 17.0 minutes each way, a difference of 3.8 minutes.
Boone County holds about 0.8% of Iowa's population but accounts for roughly 1.0% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Boone County would save about 69 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,147 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)
Boone County
20.8 min
41.5 min
173 hrs/yr
$5,367
743
Iowa
17.0 min
33.9 min
141 hrs/yr
$4,382
606
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
20.8
minutes to get to work in
Boone County.
That's 7% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 85% of counties in Iowa
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 10.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Boone County
Car:
86.6%
Worked at Home:
10.1%
Walked:
1.8%
Public Transportation:
0.6%
Other:
0.5%
Bicycle:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Boone County, versus 0.2% in Iowa.
Commute Mode Trends in Boone County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Boone 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
Public Transportation
Other
Bicycle
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
91.9%
3.6%
3.3%
0.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2010
91.3%
3.8%
3.7%
0.7%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2011
91.8%
3.5%
3.2%
0.8%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2012
91.6%
4.6%
2.5%
0.8%
0.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2013
90.7%
5.2%
3.0%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2014
90.7%
5.3%
2.8%
0.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2015
92.0%
4.7%
2.1%
0.5%
0.3%
0.1%
0.4%
0.0%
2016
92.1%
4.2%
2.4%
0.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2017
92.4%
3.2%
3.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2018
92.9%
3.4%
2.8%
0.2%
0.1%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
2019
92.0%
3.5%
2.9%
0.2%
0.6%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
2020
91.1%
4.5%
2.8%
0.3%
0.5%
0.8%
0.1%
0.0%
2021
89.0%
6.8%
2.7%
0.3%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
88.4%
8.4%
1.5%
0.6%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
87.2%
9.1%
2.1%
0.5%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
86.6%
10.1%
1.8%
0.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2018 at 92.9%. Overall it fell from 91.9% in 2009 to 86.6% in 2024, down 5.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Boone County: its share of workers rose from 3.6% in 2009 to 10.1% in 2024, up 6.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 3.3% to 1.8% of workers (down 1.5 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Boone County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Boone County?
The bars show when commuters in Boone 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 Iowa for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMBoone County3.6%Iowa5.2%
3.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMBoone County3.3%Iowa4.1%
3.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMBoone County8.7%Iowa5.7%
8.7%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMBoone County11.1%Iowa8.2%
11.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMBoone County9.4%Iowa11.2%
9.4%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMBoone County17.5%Iowa15.1%
17.5%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMBoone County15.8%Iowa15.6%
15.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMBoone County12.4%Iowa9.1%
12.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMBoone County3.9%Iowa3.6%
3.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMBoone County3.2%Iowa4.4%
3.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMBoone County1.8%Iowa2.3%
1.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMBoone County0.5%Iowa1.1%
0.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMBoone County3.9%Iowa7.5%
3.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMBoone County5.0%Iowa6.8%
5.0%
Boone CountyIowaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Boone County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 17.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.1% across Iowa. Early starts are about as common as in Iowa: 15.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.9% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Iowa: 55.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 51.0% there. About 1 in 7 commuters (14.4%) 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 Boone 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 Boone 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 Boone County next to Iowa 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
Boone County
Iowa
United States
2009
7:34 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:35 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:31 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:29 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:27 AM
7:34 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:27 AM
7:33 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:24 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:23 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:20 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:20 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:19 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:21 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:21 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:25 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:24 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:24 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Boone County were on the road by 7:24 AM, 10 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:34 AM). The shift is sharper than across Iowa, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Boone County now leave 14 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 Boone County has moved 5 minutes later.
How does Boone County's commute time compare?
Metric
Boone County
Iowa
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
20.8 min
17.0 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
10.1%
11.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.8%
2.9%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.6%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Boone County is 20.8 minutes, longer than the 17.0 minutes in Iowa.
0.6% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.7% in Iowa. 1.8% commute by walking, lower than the 2.9% in Iowa.
Boone County, IA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Boone County, IA is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 26,668 residents against a local median of 36,886. Boone County, IA's work from home, at 10.1%, runs 34% above the 7.6% typical of the counties around it.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 20.8 min against a local median of 17.0 min, 22% above it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 22% above the local median it puts Boone County, IA at the weaker end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 15.6% on work from home, so Boone County, IA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Boone County, IA has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Boone County, Iowa.
Is commuting expensive in Boone County, Iowa?
Commuters here spend an estimated 173 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,367 at a typical national wage. That's 22% more than the typical Iowa commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Boone County, Iowa?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Boone County, Iowa. 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.
Which counties in Iowa have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Iowa, the shortest average commutes are in Sioux County (10.1 min), Union County (10.4 min), Cass County (10.6 min). The longest are in Monroe County (30.4 min), Madison County (30.1 min), Mills County (26.7 min).