Rock Island Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Rock Island, Illinois: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Rock Island: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Rock Island spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 143 hours, about 6.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 27% less time on the road than the Illinois average of 23.6 minutes each way, a difference of 6.4 minutes.
Rock Island holds about 0.3% of Illinois's population but accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Rock Island would save about 57 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,777 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island | 17.2 min | 34.4 min | 143 hrs/yr | $4,442 | 1,685 |
| 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.
Rock Island Commute Map
On average, it takes 17.2 minutes to get to work in Rock Island. That's 23% 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 10.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Rock Island
- Car: 83.5%
- Worked at Home: 10.0%
- Walked: 3.8%
- Public Transportation: 1.6% unusually low
- Other: 0.5%
- Motorcycle: 0.4% unusually high
- Bicycle: 0.1% unusually low
- Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Rock Island: 5.8 times more than the Illinois average (0.4% vs 0.1%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Rock Island: 3.6 times less than the Illinois average (1.6% vs 5.8%).
Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Rock Island: 18.1 times less than the Illinois average (0.0% vs 0.3%).
Biking is unusually rare in Rock Island: 4.1 times less than the Illinois average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Commute Mode Trends in Rock Island, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Rock Island 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Public Transportation | Other | Motorcycle | Bicycle | Taxi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 87.8% | 2.0% | 6.3% | 2.7% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 2010 | 89.0% | 2.4% | 5.1% | 2.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 2011 | 85.8% | 4.4% | 5.3% | 2.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 2012 | 86.5% | 4.2% | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 2013 | 86.7% | 4.4% | 5.1% | 2.1% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 85.4% | 4.7% | 5.7% | 2.1% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 85.3% | 4.6% | 5.8% | 2.2% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 85.7% | 3.9% | 6.3% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 86.0% | 4.2% | 6.0% | 1.9% | 1.5% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 86.6% | 4.0% | 5.9% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 86.5% | 4.1% | 6.3% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| 2020 | 86.2% | 5.0% | 5.7% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 87.0% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 1.6% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 85.3% | 6.7% | 4.6% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| 2023 | 83.3% | 8.6% | 4.7% | 2.1% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2024 | 83.5% | 10.0% | 3.8% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2010 at 89.0% and lowest in 2023 at 83.3%. Overall it fell from 87.8% in 2009 to 83.5% in 2024, down 4.3 percentage points.
Working from home gained the most ground in Rock Island: its share of workers rose from 2.0% in 2009 to 10.0% in 2024, up 8.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 6.3% to 3.8% of workers (down 2.5 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 Rock Island
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Rock Island?
The bars show when commuters in Rock Island 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 AM
Rock Island4.1%
Illinois5.6%
|
4.1% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Rock Island6.0%
Illinois4.3%
|
6.0% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Rock Island7.5%
Illinois4.9%
|
7.5% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Rock Island7.8%
Illinois9.0%
|
7.8% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Rock Island10.5%
Illinois9.4%
|
10.5% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Rock Island11.7%
Illinois14.3%
|
11.7% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Rock Island11.0%
Illinois11.6%
|
11.0% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Rock Island7.6%
Illinois11.2%
|
7.6% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Rock Island3.1%
Illinois5.2%
|
3.1% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Rock Island5.9%
Illinois6.1%
|
5.9% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Rock Island3.1%
Illinois2.9%
|
3.1% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Rock Island2.6%
Illinois1.5%
|
2.6% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Rock Island9.1%
Illinois7.7%
|
9.1% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Rock Island10.0%
Illinois6.3%
|
10.0% |
Rock Island Illinois Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Rock Island is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 11.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.3% across Illinois. Early starts are more common than in Illinois: 17.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Illinois: 40.8% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.5% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (30.6%) 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 Rock Island, 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 Rock Island 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 Rock Island 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Rock Island | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:47 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:46 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:46 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:49 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:49 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:53 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:50 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:47 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:43 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:49 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:46 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:44 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:47 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:49 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:40 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:36 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Rock Island were on the road by 7:36 AM, 10 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:47 AM). That goes against the trend across Illinois, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Rock Island now leave 1 minute 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 Rock Island has moved 9 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Rock Island in the whole series.
How does Rock Island's commute time compare?
| Metric | Rock Island | Illinois | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 17.2 min | 23.6 min | 22.4 min |
| Departure Window | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM |
| Secondary Departure Window | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 10.0% | 15.9% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 3.8% | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.6% | 5.8% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Rock Island is 17.2 minutes, shorter than the 23.6 minutes in Illinois.
1.6% commute by public transit, lower than the 5.8% in Illinois. 3.8% commute by walking, higher than the 2.8% in Illinois.
Rock Island, IL Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
How Rock Island, IL compares with the 1 cities closest to it.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island, IL | 34,599 | 17.2 min #1/2 | 10.0% #2/2 | 7:36 AM #1/2 |
| Davenport, IA | 101,249 | 17.2 min | 10.3% | 7:42 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Rock Island, Illinois.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Rock Island, Illinois?
Commuters here spend an estimated 143 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,442 at a typical national wage. That's 27% less than the typical Illinois commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Rock Island, Illinois?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Rock Island, Illinois. 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Rock Island, Illinois?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 1.6% of commuters use it versus 5.8% in Illinois, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.