Commuting in McPherson County, Kansas: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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What does a typical morning commute look like in McPherson County?
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Commute Time Burden in McPherson County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in McPherson County spend about 23 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 96 hours, about 4.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 33% less time on the road than the Kansas average of 17.2 minutes each way, a difference of 5.7 minutes.
McPherson County holds about 1.0% of Kansas's population but accounts for roughly 0.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in McPherson County would save about 38 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,188 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)
McPherson County
11.5 min
23.0 min
96 hrs/yr
$2,970
683
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
11.5
minutes to get to work in
McPherson County.
That's 49% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 7.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in McPherson County
Car:
86.1%
Worked at Home:
7.3%
Walked:
5.2%
Bicycle:
0.7%
Other:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
0.3%
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is essentially absent in McPherson County, versus 0.4% in Kansas.
Commute Mode Trends in McPherson County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in McPherson 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
Motorcycle
Taxi
Public Transportation
2009
86.0%
6.7%
4.7%
0.6%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.7%
2010
85.9%
6.7%
4.8%
0.5%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.6%
2011
87.2%
6.3%
4.2%
0.5%
0.7%
0.7%
0.1%
0.3%
2012
87.4%
5.7%
4.7%
0.6%
0.7%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
2013
89.3%
4.5%
4.5%
0.5%
0.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2014
90.7%
3.9%
4.1%
0.5%
0.4%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2015
91.1%
3.4%
4.1%
0.4%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
91.1%
3.3%
4.2%
0.3%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
2017
90.6%
3.3%
4.9%
0.3%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2018
89.6%
4.1%
4.9%
0.2%
0.7%
0.4%
0.0%
0.1%
2019
90.2%
3.5%
4.9%
0.3%
0.7%
0.4%
0.0%
0.1%
2020
89.8%
4.8%
4.1%
0.3%
0.6%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
88.7%
5.2%
4.8%
0.5%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
88.5%
5.8%
4.2%
0.7%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
87.9%
6.6%
4.1%
0.7%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
86.1%
7.3%
5.2%
0.7%
0.4%
0.3%
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 2015 at 91.1% and lowest in 2010 at 85.9%. Overall it held roughly steady, at 86.0% in 2009 and 86.1% in 2024. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in McPherson County: its share of workers rose from 6.7% in 2009 to 7.3% in 2024, up 0.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.8 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 4th most common choice in the 2011 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in McPherson County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in McPherson County?
The bars show when commuters in McPherson 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 AMMcPherson County3.4%Kansas4.7%
3.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMcPherson County5.9%Kansas3.5%
5.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMcPherson County5.8%Kansas5.2%
5.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMcPherson County5.3%Kansas7.6%
5.3%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMcPherson County11.0%Kansas10.3%
11.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMcPherson County13.9%Kansas14.9%
13.9%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMcPherson County18.9%Kansas16.8%
18.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMcPherson County10.4%Kansas10.4%
10.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMcPherson County3.8%Kansas4.5%
3.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMcPherson County4.5%Kansas5.0%
4.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMcPherson County1.2%Kansas2.5%
1.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMcPherson County0.9%Kansas1.1%
0.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMcPherson County6.5%Kansas7.0%
6.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMcPherson County8.4%Kansas6.6%
8.4%
McPherson CountyKansasSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in McPherson County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.8% across Kansas. Early starts are more common than in Kansas: 15.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.5% there. The morning rush looks much like Kansas's: 54.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 52.3% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.5%) 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 McPherson 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 McPherson 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 McPherson 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
McPherson County
Kansas
United States
2009
7:37 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:38 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in McPherson County were on the road by 7:37 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Kansas, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in McPherson County now leave at about the same time as the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in McPherson County has moved 5 minutes earlier.
How does McPherson County's commute time compare?
Metric
McPherson County
Kansas
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
11.5 min
17.2 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
7.3%
11.8%
15.0%
Walked
5.2%
2.3%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in McPherson County is 11.5 minutes, shorter than the 17.2 minutes in Kansas.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.4% in Kansas. 5.2% commute by walking, higher than the 2.3% in Kansas.
McPherson County, KS Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
McPherson County, KS is typical in size for this group, 30,205 residents against a local median of 33,756, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where McPherson County, KS breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 17% below the local median of 13.8 min at 11.5 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 4.3 min on one-way commute, so McPherson County, KS sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. McPherson County, KS has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in McPherson County, Kansas.
What is the financial impact of commuting in McPherson County, Kansas?
Commuters here spend an estimated 96 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,970 at a typical national wage. That's 33% less than the typical Kansas commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in McPherson County, Kansas?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in McPherson County, Kansas. 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 McPherson 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.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among 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).