Pricing
Map Drive-Time Zone10-min drive time • PDF report

Franklin County Commute Time Map & Patterns

Help

Commuting in Franklin County, Indiana: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 3:54 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Franklin County?
Map AI 9/24/26, 3:54 PM

Commute Time Burden in Franklin County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Franklin County spend about 64 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 266 hours, about 11.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 51% more time on the road than the Indiana average of 21.1 minutes each way, a difference of 10.8 minutes.

Franklin County holds about 0.3% of Indiana's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Franklin County would save about 106 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,299 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)
Franklin County 31.9 min 63.9 min 266 hrs/yr $8,249 775
Indiana 21.1 min 42.2 min 176 hrs/yr $5,455 1,308
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.

Commute Time Map: Indiana Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in Indiana
  1. Knox County (15.8 min)
  2. Howard County (15.9 min)
  3. Daviess County (16.3 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in Indiana
  1. Crawford County (33.6 min)
  2. Brown County (32.6 min)
  3. Franklin County (31.9 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Franklin County
Click a county to open it Explore the map →
Average commute time

On average, it takes 31.9 minutes to get to work in Franklin County. That's 42% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Among the 3 slowest counties in Indiana

The most common departure window is 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 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 Franklin County

  • Car: 87.3%
  • Worked at Home: 9.3%
  • Walked: 2.0%
  • Other: 1.4%
  • Public Transportation: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low

Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Franklin County, versus 0.1% in Indiana.

Public transit is unusually rare in Franklin County: 6388023872.0 times less than the Indiana average (0.0% vs 0.6%).

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Franklin County, versus 0.1% in Indiana.

Biking is essentially absent in Franklin County, versus 0.4% in Indiana.

Commute Mode Trends in Franklin County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Franklin 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 91.9% 4.1% 2.3% 1.3% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2010 91.9% 5.0% 2.2% 0.7% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2011 91.0% 5.7% 2.0% 0.8% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2012 91.9% 4.8% 2.1% 0.9% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2013 92.5% 4.6% 1.8% 0.9% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2014 94.0% 3.5% 1.4% 1.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2015 94.0% 3.9% 1.1% 0.8% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2016 94.1% 4.1% 0.7% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2017 94.5% 4.0% 0.6% 0.7% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2018 93.6% 4.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2019 92.6% 5.2% 1.1% 0.6% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2020 89.5% 7.8% 1.7% 0.6% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2021 88.8% 7.8% 2.2% 0.8% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2022 87.2% 9.9% 2.1% 0.5% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2023 86.2% 10.3% 2.4% 1.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 87.3% 9.3% 2.0% 1.4% 0.0% 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 2017 at 94.5% and lowest in 2023 at 86.2%. Overall it fell from 91.9% in 2009 to 87.3% in 2024, down 4.6 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.

Working from home gained the most ground in Franklin County: its share of workers rose from 4.1% in 2009 to 9.3% in 2024, up 5.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 4.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Working from home peaked at 10.3% in 2023 and has since fallen back to 9.3%.

Commute Start Times in Franklin County

  • Dawn PatrolThe 2nd-highest share of pre-6 AM departures among Indiana's 92 counties: 33.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM.
  • Rush-Hour DodgersThe 2nd-lowest share of rush-hour departures among Indiana's 92 counties: only 33.5% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Franklin County?

The bars show when commuters in Franklin 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 Indiana for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.

12:00-4:59 AM
11.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
9.7%
5:30-5:59 AM
13.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
11.5%
6:30-6:59 AM
6.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
11.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
8.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
7.7%
8:30-8:59 AM
1.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
2.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
2.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
0.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
7.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
6.6%

Franklin County Indiana Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Franklin County is 5:30-5:59 AM, when 13.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 5.6% across Indiana. Early starts are more common than in Indiana: 33.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 16.9% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Indiana: 33.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 45.7% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.4%) 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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County next to Indiana 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 Franklin County Indiana United States
2009 7:09 AM 7:31 AM 7:37 AM
2010 7:12 AM 7:32 AM 7:38 AM
2011 7:10 AM 7:33 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:12 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2013 7:10 AM 7:34 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:06 AM 7:34 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:11 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:13 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:19 AM 7:33 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:19 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:23 AM 7:32 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:18 AM 7:32 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:17 AM 7:32 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:09 AM 7:32 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:08 AM 7:32 AM 7:38 AM
2024 6:51 AM 7:32 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Franklin County were on the road by 6:51 AM, 18 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:09 AM). Across Indiana, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Franklin County now leave 47 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 Franklin County has moved 32 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Franklin County in the whole series.

How does Franklin County's commute time compare?

Metric Franklin County Indiana US Average
Avg. Commute Time 31.9 min 21.1 min 22.4 min
Departure Window 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 9.3% 10.7% 15.0%
Walked 2.0% 1.9% 2.4%
Public Transit < 0.1% 0.6% 3.2%

The average commute time in Franklin County is 31.9 minutes, longer than the 21.1 minutes in Indiana.

0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Indiana. 2.0% commute by walking, higher than the 1.9% in Indiana.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Franklin County, IN Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Franklin County, IN is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 23,020 residents against a local median of 29,095. Franklin County, IN's one-way commute, at 31.9 min, runs 47% above the 21.7 min typical of the counties around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.

Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 9.3% against a local median of 6.9%, 36% above it. The counties themselves spread 13.3 min on one-way commute, so Franklin County, IN sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Franklin County, IN has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Franklin County, IN 23,020 31.9 min #6/6 9.3% #2/6 6:51 AM #1/6
Union County, IN 6,985 23.3 min 4.4% 7:23 AM
Fayette County, IN 23,334 20.5 min 4.9% 7:29 AM
Dearborn County, IN 51,094 30.1 min 9.7% 7:14 AM
Ripley County, IN 29,095 21.7 min 7.8% 7:20 AM
Wayne County, IN 66,397 16.8 min 6.9% 7:40 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Franklin County, Indiana.

How much does the average commute cost workers in Franklin County, Indiana?

Commuters here spend an estimated 266 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $8,249 at a typical national wage. That's 51% more than the typical Indiana commuter spends.

When is rush hour worst in Franklin County, Indiana?

Traffic peaks between 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM in Franklin County, Indiana. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.

How common is public transit use in Franklin County, Indiana?

Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.6% in Indiana, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.

How do commute times compare across counties in Indiana?

Among counties in Indiana, the shortest average commutes are in Knox County (15.8 min), Howard County (15.9 min), Daviess County (16.3 min). The longest are in Crawford County (33.6 min), Brown County (32.6 min), Franklin County (31.9 min).