Commuting in Riley 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, 7:56 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Riley County?
Map AI9/24/26, 7:56 PM
Commute Time Burden in Riley County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Riley County spend about 25 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 103 hours, about 4.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 28% less time on the road than the Kansas average of 17.2 minutes each way, a difference of 4.9 minutes.
Riley County holds about 2.4% of Kansas's population but accounts for roughly 1.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Riley County would save about 41 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,273 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)
Riley County
12.3 min
24.6 min
103 hrs/yr
$3,183
804
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
12.3
minutes to get to work in
Riley County.
That's 45% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by walking. About 11.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Riley County
Car:
73.3%
Walked:
13.6%unusually high
Worked at Home:
11.2%
Other:
0.6%
Bicycle:
0.5%
Motorcycle:
0.4%
Taxi:
0.3%
Public Transportation:
0.2%
Walking is unusually common in Riley County: 5.9 times more than the Kansas average (13.6% vs 2.3%).
Riley County stands out for active commuting: 14.1% of workers walk or bike to work, 5.4 times the Kansas average of 2.6%.
Commute Mode Trends in Riley County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Riley 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
Walked
Worked at Home
Other
Bicycle
Motorcycle
Taxi
Public Transportation
2009
79.1%
11.1%
7.9%
0.5%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2010
78.6%
11.2%
8.5%
0.4%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2011
76.3%
9.8%
12.2%
0.3%
1.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2012
76.7%
9.8%
12.0%
0.2%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2013
78.4%
8.7%
11.1%
0.3%
1.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2014
79.3%
8.6%
10.0%
0.3%
1.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2015
80.1%
8.9%
8.3%
0.4%
1.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
2016
81.4%
9.4%
6.5%
0.6%
1.5%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
2017
82.4%
8.7%
5.9%
0.7%
1.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
2018
82.5%
9.1%
5.4%
0.8%
1.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.4%
2019
81.4%
9.8%
5.7%
0.8%
1.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.4%
2020
80.1%
9.9%
7.5%
0.7%
1.5%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
2021
77.7%
10.5%
9.5%
0.6%
1.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
2022
74.2%
12.3%
11.3%
0.6%
1.1%
0.2%
0.1%
0.2%
2023
73.8%
13.5%
10.7%
0.6%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.2%
2024
73.3%
13.6%
11.2%
0.6%
0.5%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2018 at 82.5%. Overall it fell from 79.1% in 2009 to 73.3% in 2024, down 5.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Riley County: its share of workers rose from 7.9% in 2009 to 11.2% in 2024, up 3.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Working from home peaked at 12.2% in 2011 and has since fallen back to 11.2%.
Commute Start Times in Riley County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Riley County?
The bars show when commuters in Riley 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 AMRiley County3.6%Kansas4.7%
3.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMRiley County2.3%Kansas3.5%
2.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMRiley County10.7%Kansas5.2%
10.7%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMRiley County8.5%Kansas7.6%
8.5%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMRiley County7.2%Kansas10.3%
7.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMRiley County8.8%Kansas14.9%
8.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMRiley County16.8%Kansas16.8%
16.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMRiley County9.6%Kansas10.4%
9.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMRiley County5.8%Kansas4.5%
5.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMRiley County7.6%Kansas5.0%
7.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMRiley County2.3%Kansas2.5%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMRiley County0.8%Kansas1.1%
0.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMRiley County9.3%Kansas7.0%
9.3%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMRiley County6.6%Kansas6.6%
6.6%
Riley CountyKansasSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Riley County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 16.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.8% across Kansas. Early starts are more common than in Kansas: 16.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Kansas: 42.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 52.3% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.7%) 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 Riley 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 Riley 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 Riley 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
Riley County
Kansas
United States
2009
7:50 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:41 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Riley County were on the road by 7:46 AM, 4 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:50 AM). The shift is sharper than across Kansas, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Riley County now leave 8 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Riley County has moved 3 minutes later.
How does Riley County's commute time compare?
Metric
Riley County
Kansas
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
12.3 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
05:30 AM – 05:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
11.2%
11.8%
15.0%
Walked
13.6%
2.3%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.2%
0.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in Riley County is 12.3 minutes, shorter than the 17.2 minutes in Kansas.
0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.4% in Kansas. 13.6% commute by walking, higher than the 2.3% in Kansas.
Riley County, KS Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Riley County, KS is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 71,946 residents against a local median of 18,445. The measure that sets Riley County, KS apart most is work from home: 11.2%, 88% above the local median of 5.9%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 12.3 min against a local median of 18.0 min, 31% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 31% below the local median it puts Riley County, KS at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves sit within 2.5% of each other on work from home, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Riley County, KS, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Riley County, KS has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Riley County, Kansas.
Is living in Riley County, Kansas good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 103 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,183 at a typical national wage. That's 28% less than the typical Kansas commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Riley County, Kansas?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Riley County, Kansas. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 05:30 AM – 05:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Which counties in Kansas have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).