Commuting in Coles County, Illinois: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 7:58 PM
Is the commute in Coles County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 7:58 PM
Commute Time Burden in Coles County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Coles County spend about 27 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 112 hours, about 4.7 full days, spent commuting. That is 43% less time on the road than the Illinois average of 23.6 minutes each way, a difference of 10.2 minutes.
Coles County holds about 0.4% of Illinois's population but accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Coles County would save about 45 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,385 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)
Coles County
13.4 min
26.8 min
112 hrs/yr
$3,463
757
Illinois
23.6 min
47.3 min
197 hrs/yr
$6,104
1,547
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
13.4
minutes to get to work in
Coles County.
That's 40% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 94% of counties in Illinois
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 7.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Coles County
Car:
85.4%
Worked at Home:
7.2%
Walked:
4.8%
Bicycle:
1.5%
Other:
0.8%
Taxi:
0.1%
Public Transportation:
0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public transit is unusually rare in Coles County: 54.6 times less than the Illinois average (0.1% vs 5.8%).
Commute Mode Trends in Coles County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Coles 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
Bicycle
Other
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
87.4%
3.3%
7.7%
0.4%
0.3%
0.6%
0.2%
0.2%
2010
88.0%
3.6%
6.6%
0.6%
0.3%
0.5%
0.1%
0.3%
2011
85.9%
4.5%
7.1%
0.6%
0.3%
1.1%
0.1%
0.5%
2012
87.2%
4.0%
6.5%
0.8%
0.1%
1.0%
0.2%
0.3%
2013
85.8%
4.4%
6.9%
1.0%
0.2%
0.9%
0.3%
0.4%
2014
86.3%
4.4%
6.5%
1.1%
0.3%
0.8%
0.2%
0.4%
2015
86.9%
3.9%
6.1%
1.3%
0.3%
0.9%
0.2%
0.3%
2016
87.3%
4.1%
5.5%
1.4%
0.3%
1.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2017
87.0%
4.5%
5.6%
1.3%
0.3%
0.9%
0.2%
0.2%
2018
87.6%
4.2%
5.9%
1.0%
0.2%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
2019
88.3%
4.7%
5.2%
0.7%
0.3%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
2020
86.2%
6.5%
5.5%
0.8%
0.2%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
86.8%
5.7%
5.7%
0.9%
0.3%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2022
86.9%
5.9%
5.1%
1.3%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
86.1%
6.2%
5.3%
1.4%
0.7%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2024
85.4%
7.2%
4.8%
1.5%
0.8%
0.1%
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 2019 at 88.3%. Overall it fell from 87.4% in 2009 to 85.4% in 2024, down 2.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Coles County: its share of workers rose from 3.3% in 2009 to 7.2% in 2024, up 3.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 7.7% to 4.8% of workers (down 2.9 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2022 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Coles County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Coles County?
The bars show when commuters in Coles 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 Illinois for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMColes County3.8%Illinois5.6%
3.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMColes County3.1%Illinois4.3%
3.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMColes County5.0%Illinois4.9%
5.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMColes County9.2%Illinois9.0%
9.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMColes County11.6%Illinois9.4%
11.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMColes County11.8%Illinois14.3%
11.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMColes County14.9%Illinois11.6%
14.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMColes County9.6%Illinois11.2%
9.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMColes County4.7%Illinois5.2%
4.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMColes County4.4%Illinois6.1%
4.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMColes County2.3%Illinois2.9%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMColes County1.1%Illinois1.5%
1.1%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMColes County8.4%Illinois7.7%
8.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMColes County10.3%Illinois6.3%
10.3%
Coles CountyIllinoisSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Coles County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 14.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.6% across Illinois. Early starts are less common than in Illinois: 11.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush looks much like Illinois's: 47.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.5% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.4%) 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 Coles 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 Coles 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 Coles County next to Illinois 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
Coles County
Illinois
United States
2009
7:53 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:50 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:50 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:52 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:51 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:49 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:47 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:47 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:44 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:46 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:50 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:51 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:50 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:47 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:43 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:41 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Coles County were on the road by 7:41 AM, 12 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:53 AM). That goes against the trend across Illinois, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Coles County now leave 3 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Coles County has moved 9 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Coles County in the whole series.
How does Coles County's commute time compare?
Metric
Coles County
Illinois
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
13.4 min
23.6 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
7.2%
15.9%
15.0%
Walked
4.8%
2.8%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.1%
5.8%
3.2%
The average commute time in Coles County is 13.4 minutes, shorter than the 23.6 minutes in Illinois.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 5.8% in Illinois. 4.8% commute by walking, higher than the 2.8% in Illinois.
Coles County, IL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Coles County, IL is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 46,775 residents against a local median of 15,265. Coles County, IL's work from home, at 7.2%, runs 35% above the 5.3% typical of the counties around it.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 13.4 min against a local median of 17.8 min, 25% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 25% below the local median it puts Coles County, IL at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 4.2% on work from home, so Coles County, IL sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Coles County, IL has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Coles County, Illinois.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Coles County, Illinois?
Commuters here spend an estimated 112 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,463 at a typical national wage. That's 43% less than the typical Illinois commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Coles County, Illinois?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Coles County, Illinois. 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.
Do people use public transit in Coles County, Illinois?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.1% of commuters use it versus 5.8% in Illinois, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Which counties in Illinois have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Illinois, the shortest average commutes are in Edgar County (12.0 min), Brown County (12.7 min), Morgan County (13.1 min). The longest are in Calhoun County (43.8 min), Pulaski County (31.2 min), Pope County (31.0 min).