Commuting in Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie County spend on the road daily?
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Commute Time Burden in Pottawattamie County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Pottawattamie County spend about 36 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 151 hours, about 6.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 7% more time on the road than the Iowa average of 17.0 minutes each way, a difference of 1.1 minutes.
Pottawattamie County holds about 2.9% of Iowa's population but accounts for roughly 3.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Pottawattamie County would save about 60 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,871 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)
Pottawattamie County
18.1 min
36.2 min
151 hrs/yr
$4,677
1,445
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
18.1
minutes to get to work in
Pottawattamie County.
That's 19% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 9.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Pottawattamie County
Car:
86.4%
Worked at Home:
9.8%
Walked:
1.8%
Other:
1.0%
Public Transportation:
0.6%
Taxi:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
0.1%
Bicycle:
0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Pottawattamie County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Pottawattamie 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
Motorcycle
Bicycle
2009
91.7%
4.5%
1.9%
0.8%
0.5%
0.0%
0.2%
0.3%
2010
92.3%
4.5%
1.8%
0.5%
0.5%
0.0%
0.1%
0.2%
2011
92.7%
4.1%
1.8%
0.3%
0.6%
0.0%
0.1%
0.3%
2012
92.9%
3.9%
1.7%
0.5%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.3%
2013
93.3%
3.6%
1.6%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.1%
0.3%
2014
93.6%
3.1%
1.6%
0.5%
0.8%
0.0%
0.1%
0.3%
2015
93.3%
3.0%
1.7%
0.6%
0.8%
0.1%
0.2%
0.4%
2016
93.1%
3.0%
1.8%
0.7%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.4%
2017
93.1%
3.2%
1.6%
0.6%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.3%
2018
93.1%
3.0%
1.6%
0.9%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
2019
93.0%
3.4%
1.5%
1.0%
0.7%
0.2%
0.1%
0.2%
2020
92.0%
4.8%
1.4%
0.9%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
90.6%
6.1%
1.4%
1.0%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
89.2%
7.4%
1.7%
1.0%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
87.4%
8.9%
1.7%
0.8%
0.6%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2024
86.4%
9.8%
1.8%
1.0%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2014 at 93.6%. Overall it fell from 91.7% in 2009 to 86.4% 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 Pottawattamie County: its share of workers rose from 4.5% in 2009 to 9.8% in 2024, up 5.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Pottawattamie County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Pottawattamie County?
The bars show when commuters in Pottawattamie 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 AMPottawattamie County5.5%Iowa5.2%
5.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMPottawattamie County3.2%Iowa4.1%
3.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMPottawattamie County6.0%Iowa5.7%
6.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMPottawattamie County8.3%Iowa8.2%
8.3%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMPottawattamie County12.1%Iowa11.2%
12.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMPottawattamie County16.4%Iowa15.1%
16.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMPottawattamie County12.5%Iowa15.6%
12.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMPottawattamie County9.4%Iowa9.1%
9.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMPottawattamie County3.5%Iowa3.6%
3.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMPottawattamie County3.6%Iowa4.4%
3.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMPottawattamie County2.4%Iowa2.3%
2.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMPottawattamie County0.9%Iowa1.1%
0.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMPottawattamie County8.5%Iowa7.5%
8.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMPottawattamie County7.7%Iowa6.8%
7.7%
Pottawattamie CountyIowaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Pottawattamie County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 16.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.1% across Iowa. Early starts are about as common as in Iowa: 14.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.9% there. The morning rush looks much like Iowa's: 50.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 51.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.1%) 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 Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie 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
Pottawattamie County
Iowa
United States
2009
7:27 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:26 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:28 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:27 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:28 AM
7:34 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:27 AM
7:33 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:28 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:28 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:26 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:26 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:26 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:26 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:26 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:27 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:28 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:27 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Pottawattamie County were on the road by 7:27 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Iowa, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Pottawattamie County now leave 11 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Pottawattamie County's commute time compare?
Metric
Pottawattamie County
Iowa
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.1 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
9.8%
11.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.8%
2.9%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.6%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Pottawattamie County is 18.1 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.
Pottawattamie County, IA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Pottawattamie County, IA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 93,423 residents against a local median of 11,778. Pottawattamie County, IA sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 2% below the local median at 9.8% against 10.0%. Pottawattamie County, IA has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.
Is living in Pottawattamie County, Iowa good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 151 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,677 at a typical national wage. That's 7% more than the typical Iowa commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Pottawattamie 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.
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).