Commuting in Polk County, Iowa: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 1:43 PM
Is the commute in Polk County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 1:43 PM
Commute Time Burden in Polk County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Polk County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 154 hours, about 6.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 9% more time on the road than the Iowa average of 17.0 minutes each way, a difference of 1.5 minutes.
Polk County holds about 15.7% of Iowa's population but accounts for roughly 17.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Polk County would save about 62 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,908 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)
Polk County
18.5 min
36.9 min
154 hrs/yr
$4,770
2,206
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
18.5
minutes to get to work in
Polk County.
That's 18% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 73% 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 15.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Polk County
Car:
80.8%
Worked at Home:
15.7%
Walked:
1.4%
Other:
1.0%
Public Transportation:
0.5%
Taxi:
0.3%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Polk County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Polk 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
Other
Public Transportation
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
92.0%
3.3%
1.9%
0.6%
1.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2010
91.9%
3.5%
1.9%
0.5%
1.8%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2011
91.9%
3.6%
1.8%
0.5%
1.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2012
91.9%
3.8%
1.7%
0.5%
1.5%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2013
92.1%
3.9%
1.7%
0.6%
1.2%
0.1%
0.3%
0.2%
2014
92.3%
3.9%
1.5%
0.5%
1.2%
0.1%
0.3%
0.2%
2015
92.5%
3.7%
1.6%
0.5%
1.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.2%
2016
92.3%
3.6%
1.7%
0.5%
1.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.2%
2017
92.0%
3.7%
1.8%
0.5%
1.4%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2018
91.6%
4.2%
1.7%
0.5%
1.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2019
91.5%
4.3%
1.7%
0.5%
1.5%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2020
89.2%
6.8%
1.7%
0.6%
1.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
86.3%
10.0%
1.4%
0.7%
0.9%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2022
84.1%
12.4%
1.4%
0.7%
0.8%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
82.7%
13.9%
1.4%
0.9%
0.6%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2024
80.8%
15.7%
1.4%
1.0%
0.5%
0.3%
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 2015 at 92.5%. Overall it fell from 92.0% in 2009 to 80.8% in 2024, down 11.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 9 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Polk County: its share of workers rose from 3.3% in 2009 to 15.7% in 2024, up 12.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.7% to 0.5% of workers (down 1.2 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Polk County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Polk County?
The bars show when commuters in Polk 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 AMPolk County3.5%Iowa5.2%
3.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMPolk County2.5%Iowa4.1%
2.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMPolk County4.3%Iowa5.7%
4.3%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMPolk County8.1%Iowa8.2%
8.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMPolk County10.9%Iowa11.2%
10.9%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMPolk County16.1%Iowa15.1%
16.1%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMPolk County16.0%Iowa15.6%
16.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMPolk County10.6%Iowa9.1%
10.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMPolk County4.8%Iowa3.6%
4.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMPolk County5.3%Iowa4.4%
5.3%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMPolk County2.3%Iowa2.3%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMPolk County1.3%Iowa1.1%
1.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMPolk County7.2%Iowa7.5%
7.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMPolk County7.1%Iowa6.8%
7.1%
Polk CountyIowaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Polk County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 16.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.1% across Iowa. Early starts are less common than in Iowa: 10.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.9% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Iowa: 53.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 51.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.2%) 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 Polk 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 Polk 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 Polk 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
Polk County
Iowa
United States
2009
7:35 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:35 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:35 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:35 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:35 AM
7:34 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:35 AM
7:33 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:36 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:36 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:37 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:39 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Polk County were on the road by 7:39 AM, 4 minutes later than in 2009 (7:35 AM). That goes against the trend across Iowa, where the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Polk County now leave at about the same time as the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Polk County has moved 2 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Polk County in the whole series.
How does Polk County's commute time compare?
Metric
Polk County
Iowa
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.5 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
15.7%
11.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.4%
2.9%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.5%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Polk County is 18.5 minutes, longer than the 17.0 minutes in Iowa.
0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.7% in Iowa. 1.4% commute by walking, lower than the 2.9% in Iowa.
Polk County, IA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Polk County, IA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 502,972 residents against a local median of 54,398. Polk County, IA's work from home, at 15.7%, runs 34% above the 11.8% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 10.1% on work from home, so Polk County, IA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Polk County, IA has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Polk County, Iowa.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Polk County, Iowa?
Commuters here spend an estimated 154 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,770 at a typical national wage. That's 9% more than the typical Iowa commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Polk County, Iowa?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Polk 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.
How much money can remote workers save in Polk County, Iowa?
About 15.7% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Polk County would save about 62 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,908 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Iowa?
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).