Commuting in Richland 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, 8:01 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Richland County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:01 PM
Commute Time Burden in Richland County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Richland 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 111 hours, about 4.6 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 10.3 minutes.
Richland County holds about 0.1% of Illinois's population and accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Richland County would save about 45 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,382 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)
Richland County
13.4 min
26.7 min
111 hrs/yr
$3,455
1,154
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
Richland County.
That's 40% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 95% 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 6.4% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Richland County
Car:
90.0%unusually high
Worked at Home:
6.4%
Walked:
1.7%
Other:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.6%
Motorcycle:
0.1%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Driving is 22% more common in Richland County than the Illinois average (90.0% vs 73.7%).
Public transit is essentially absent in Richland County, versus 5.8% in Illinois.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Richland County, versus 0.3% in Illinois.
Commute Mode Trends in Richland County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Richland 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
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
2009
93.3%
3.4%
1.5%
0.7%
0.3%
0.1%
0.7%
0.0%
2010
93.0%
3.2%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.1%
0.8%
0.0%
2011
93.0%
4.0%
1.1%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
0.5%
0.0%
2012
92.0%
3.6%
2.0%
1.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.6%
0.0%
2013
92.6%
3.0%
2.6%
1.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
2014
94.6%
2.5%
1.9%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2015
94.4%
2.6%
2.2%
0.6%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2016
93.5%
2.9%
2.3%
0.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.4%
0.0%
2017
94.4%
2.6%
1.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.2%
0.4%
0.0%
2018
93.5%
3.7%
1.5%
0.6%
0.0%
0.1%
0.5%
0.0%
2019
93.0%
4.4%
1.5%
0.5%
0.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2020
92.2%
5.1%
1.9%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
92.5%
4.6%
1.8%
0.8%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
91.2%
5.9%
2.1%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
90.0%
6.6%
2.1%
1.0%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
90.0%
6.4%
1.7%
1.1%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2014 at 94.6%. Overall it fell from 93.3% in 2009 to 90.0% in 2024, down 3.3 percentage points.
Working from home gained the most ground in Richland County: its share of workers rose from 3.4% in 2009 to 6.4% in 2024, up 3.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 0.7% to 0.0% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Biking overtook public transit to become the 5th most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Richland County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Richland County?
The bars show when commuters in Richland 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 AMRichland County10.2%Illinois5.6%
10.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMRichland County3.9%Illinois4.3%
3.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMRichland County7.1%Illinois4.9%
7.1%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMRichland County9.6%Illinois9.0%
9.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMRichland County10.7%Illinois9.4%
10.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMRichland County12.8%Illinois14.3%
12.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMRichland County14.2%Illinois11.6%
14.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMRichland County5.8%Illinois11.2%
5.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMRichland County2.2%Illinois5.2%
2.2%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMRichland County3.0%Illinois6.1%
3.0%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMRichland County1.0%Illinois2.9%
1.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMRichland County1.8%Illinois1.5%
1.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMRichland County11.0%Illinois7.7%
11.0%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMRichland County6.8%Illinois6.3%
6.8%
Richland CountyIllinoisSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Richland County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 14.2% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.6% across Illinois. Early starts are more common than in Illinois: 21.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Illinois: 43.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.5% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.5%) 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 Richland 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 Richland 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 Richland 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
Richland County
Illinois
United States
2009
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:32 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:24 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:30 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:30 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:30 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:29 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:28 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:26 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:23 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:19 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:22 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:20 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Richland County were on the road by 7:20 AM, 13 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:33 AM). That goes against the trend across Illinois, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Richland County now leave 18 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 Richland County has moved 6 minutes earlier.
How does Richland County's commute time compare?
Metric
Richland 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
6.4%
15.9%
15.0%
Walked
1.7%
2.8%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
5.8%
3.2%
The average commute time in Richland County is 13.4 minutes, shorter than the 23.6 minutes in Illinois.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 5.8% in Illinois. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.8% in Illinois.
Richland County, IL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Richland County, IL is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 15,599 residents against a local median of 11,116. Where Richland County, IL breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 34% above the local median of 4.8% at 6.4%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 13.4 min against a local median of 20.2 min, 34% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 34% below the local median it puts Richland County, IL at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 4.1% on work from home, so Richland County, IL sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Richland County, IL has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Richland County, Illinois.
Is living in Richland County, Illinois good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 111 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,455 at a typical national wage. That's 43% less than the typical Illinois commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Richland County, Illinois?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Richland 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Richland County, Illinois?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 5.8% in Illinois, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Illinois?
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).