Commuting in Jefferson County, Kansas: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:24 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Jefferson County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:24 PM
Commute Time Burden in Jefferson County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Jefferson County spend about 61 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 252 hours, about 10.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 76% more time on the road than the Kansas average of 17.2 minutes each way, a difference of 13.1 minutes.
Jefferson County holds about 0.6% of Kansas's population but accounts for roughly 1.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Jefferson County would save about 101 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,129 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)
Jefferson County
30.3 min
60.6 min
252 hrs/yr
$7,824
805
Kansas
17.2 min
34.4 min
143 hrs/yr
$4,448
662
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
30.3
minutes to get to work in
Jefferson County.
That's 35% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the 3 slowest counties in Kansas
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 11.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Jefferson County
Car:
85.5%
Worked at Home:
11.7%
Walked:
1.5%
Other:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is essentially absent in Jefferson County, versus 0.4% in Kansas.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Jefferson County, versus 0.2% in Kansas.
Commute Mode Trends in Jefferson County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Jefferson 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
Motorcycle
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
2009
91.6%
5.7%
1.8%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2010
91.1%
5.7%
2.1%
0.5%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2011
92.1%
4.8%
1.9%
0.5%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2012
93.5%
3.9%
1.8%
0.2%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2013
92.9%
3.3%
2.2%
0.5%
0.6%
0.2%
0.5%
0.0%
2014
93.2%
3.0%
2.2%
0.6%
0.6%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2015
94.7%
2.4%
1.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.4%
0.0%
2016
93.9%
3.3%
1.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
0.4%
0.0%
2017
94.0%
3.6%
1.3%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
0.4%
0.0%
2018
94.9%
3.6%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
94.8%
3.6%
1.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
93.5%
4.5%
1.4%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
91.8%
6.1%
1.4%
0.2%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
89.5%
8.1%
1.7%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
88.1%
9.5%
1.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
85.5%
11.7%
1.5%
1.1%
0.1%
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 2018 at 94.9%. Overall it fell from 91.6% in 2009 to 85.5% in 2024, down 6.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Jefferson County: its share of workers rose from 5.7% in 2009 to 11.7% in 2024, up 6.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 8.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Jefferson County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Jefferson County?
The bars show when commuters in Jefferson 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 Kansas for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMJefferson County4.1%Kansas4.7%
4.1%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMJefferson County5.5%Kansas3.5%
5.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMJefferson County5.9%Kansas5.2%
5.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMJefferson County16.0%Kansas7.6%
16.0%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMJefferson County10.9%Kansas10.3%
10.9%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMJefferson County20.7%Kansas14.9%
20.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMJefferson County13.6%Kansas16.8%
13.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMJefferson County7.4%Kansas10.4%
7.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMJefferson County1.4%Kansas4.5%
1.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMJefferson County2.4%Kansas5.0%
2.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMJefferson County1.0%Kansas2.5%
1.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMJefferson County0.4%Kansas1.1%
0.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMJefferson County4.5%Kansas7.0%
4.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMJefferson County6.3%Kansas6.6%
6.3%
Jefferson CountyKansasSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Jefferson County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 20.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.9% across Kansas. Early starts are more common than in Kansas: 15.5% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.5% there. The morning rush looks much like Kansas's: 52.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 52.3% there. About 1 in 7 commuters (14.6%) 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County next to Kansas 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
Jefferson County
Kansas
United States
2009
7:19 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:21 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:19 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:22 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:17 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:16 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:14 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:12 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:10 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:13 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:11 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:13 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:12 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:13 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:11 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Jefferson County were on the road by 7:11 AM, 8 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:19 AM). The shift is sharper than across Kansas, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Jefferson County now leave 27 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 Jefferson County has moved 2 minutes earlier.
How does Jefferson County's commute time compare?
Metric
Jefferson County
Kansas
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
30.3 min
17.2 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
06:00 AM – 06:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
11.7%
11.8%
15.0%
Walked
1.5%
2.3%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in Jefferson County is 30.3 minutes, longer than the 17.2 minutes in Kansas.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.4% in Kansas. 1.5% commute by walking, lower than the 2.3% in Kansas.
Jefferson County, KS Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Jefferson County, KS is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 18,348 residents against a local median of 83,123. The measure that sets Jefferson County, KS apart most is one-way commute: 30.3 min, 77% above the local median of 17.1 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves sit within 5.9 min of each other on one-way commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Jefferson County, KS, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Jefferson County, KS has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Jefferson County, Kansas.
Is commuting expensive in Jefferson County, Kansas?
Commuters here spend an estimated 252 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,824 at a typical national wage. That's 76% more than the typical Kansas commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Jefferson County, Kansas?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Jefferson County, Kansas. 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 Jefferson County, Kansas?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.4% in Kansas, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Kansas?
Among counties in Kansas, the shortest average commutes are in Wichita County (7.0 min), Scott County (7.1 min), Greeley County (7.2 min). The longest are in Linn County (31.3 min), Miami County (30.8 min), Jefferson County (30.3 min).