Commuting in Bear Lake County, Idaho: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:35 PM
Is the commute in Bear Lake County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:35 PM
Commute Time Burden in Bear Lake County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Bear Lake 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 155 hours, about 6.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 3% more time on the road than the Idaho average of 18.0 minutes each way, a difference of 0.6 minutes.
Bear Lake County holds about 0.3% of Idaho's population but accounts for roughly 0.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Bear Lake County would save about 62 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,920 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)
Bear Lake County
18.6 min
37.2 min
155 hrs/yr
$4,800
353
Idaho
18.0 min
35.9 min
150 hrs/yr
$4,641
865
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
18.6
minutes to get to work in
Bear Lake County.
That's 17% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 72% of counties in Idaho
The most common departure window is 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 9.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Bear Lake County
Car:
87.6%
Worked at Home:
9.3%
Walked:
1.6%
Other:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.5%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Bear Lake County, versus 0.2% in Idaho.
Public transit is essentially absent in Bear Lake County, versus 0.5% in Idaho.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Bear Lake County, versus 0.1% in Idaho.
Commute Mode Trends in Bear Lake County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Bear Lake 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
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
87.8%
4.5%
4.0%
3.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
89.1%
4.9%
3.5%
2.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
88.2%
5.1%
4.3%
2.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
89.9%
4.5%
4.1%
1.2%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
88.3%
5.1%
5.2%
0.4%
0.4%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
88.8%
5.7%
4.5%
0.2%
0.2%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
2015
89.3%
5.2%
3.2%
0.2%
1.1%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
89.1%
6.1%
3.2%
0.2%
1.1%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
88.5%
6.4%
3.8%
0.0%
1.1%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
87.5%
6.1%
5.0%
0.2%
0.7%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
87.7%
6.3%
4.4%
0.2%
0.9%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
89.0%
6.7%
3.4%
0.2%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
87.5%
8.4%
2.7%
0.5%
0.2%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
87.3%
9.5%
2.0%
0.5%
0.2%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
88.5%
8.8%
1.7%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
87.6%
9.3%
1.6%
1.1%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2012 at 89.9% and lowest in 2022 at 87.3%. Overall it held roughly steady, at 87.8% in 2009 and 87.6% in 2024. It has fallen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Bear Lake County: its share of workers rose from 4.5% in 2009 to 9.3% in 2024, up 4.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 4.0% to 1.6% of workers (down 2.4 percentage points).
Biking overtook public transit to become the 5th most common choice in the 2023 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Bear Lake County
🧘Rush-Hour DodgersThe lowest share of rush-hour departures among Idaho's 44 counties: only 37.3% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.
🌅Dawn PatrolThe 2nd-highest share of pre-6 AM departures among Idaho's 44 counties: 28.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Bear Lake County?
The bars show when commuters in Bear Lake 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 Idaho for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMBear Lake County18.1%Idaho5.2%
18.1%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMBear Lake County1.6%Idaho3.5%
1.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMBear Lake County8.6%Idaho5.1%
8.6%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMBear Lake County6.7%Idaho7.9%
6.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMBear Lake County8.1%Idaho10.3%
8.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMBear Lake County12.8%Idaho14.2%
12.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMBear Lake County8.9%Idaho14.5%
8.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMBear Lake County7.5%Idaho10.6%
7.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMBear Lake County3.5%Idaho5.4%
3.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMBear Lake County6.5%Idaho6.3%
6.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMBear Lake County4.8%Idaho3.3%
4.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMBear Lake County2.7%Idaho1.6%
2.7%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMBear Lake County5.9%Idaho6.3%
5.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMBear Lake County4.2%Idaho5.9%
4.2%
Bear Lake CountyIdahoSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Bear Lake County is 12:00-4:59 AM, when 18.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 5.2% across Idaho. Early starts are more common than in Idaho: 28.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Idaho: 37.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.6% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.1%) 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 Bear Lake 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 Bear Lake 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 Bear Lake County next to Idaho 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
Bear Lake County
Idaho
United States
2009
7:32 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:25 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:34 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:31 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:23 AM
7:40 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:22 AM
7:41 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:27 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:30 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:26 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:28 AM
7:41 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:31 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:32 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:25 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:16 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Bear Lake County were on the road by 7:16 AM, 16 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:32 AM). The shift is sharper than across Idaho, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Bear Lake County now leave 22 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 Bear Lake County has moved 15 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Bear Lake County in the whole series.
How does Bear Lake County's commute time compare?
Metric
Bear Lake County
Idaho
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.6 min
18.0 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
12:00 AM – 04:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
9.3%
13.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.6%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Bear Lake County is 18.6 minutes, longer than the 18.0 minutes in Idaho.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.5% in Idaho. 1.6% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Idaho.
Bear Lake County, ID Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Bear Lake County, ID is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 6,650 residents against a local median of 15,053. Bear Lake County, ID's work from home, at 9.3%, runs 23% below the 12.0% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 12.6% on work from home, so Bear Lake County, ID sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Bear Lake County, ID has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Bear Lake County, Idaho.
Is living in Bear Lake County, Idaho good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 155 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,800 at a typical national wage. That's 3% more than the typical Idaho commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Bear Lake County, Idaho?
Traffic peaks between 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM in Bear Lake County, Idaho. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Bear Lake County, Idaho?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.5% in Idaho, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Idaho?
Among counties in Idaho, the shortest average commutes are in Custer County (8.9 min), Lemhi County (11.6 min), Madison County (12.0 min). The longest are in Camas County (49.5 min), Boise County (38.0 min), Lincoln County (32.0 min).