Commuting in Breathitt County, Kentucky: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 5:45 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Breathitt County?
Map AI9/24/26, 5:45 PM
Commute Time Burden in Breathitt County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Breathitt County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 153 hours, about 6.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 12% less time on the road than the Kentucky average of 20.8 minutes each way, a difference of 2.4 minutes.
Breathitt County holds about 0.3% of Kentucky's population and accounts for roughly 0.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Breathitt County would save about 61 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,895 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)
Breathitt County
18.3 min
36.7 min
153 hrs/yr
$4,737
197
Kentucky
20.8 min
41.6 min
173 hrs/yr
$5,369
832
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
18.3
minutes to get to work in
Breathitt County.
That's 18% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 76% of counties in Kentucky
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 7.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Breathitt County
Car:
88.7%
Worked at Home:
7.0%
Walked:
3.3%
Other:
0.8%
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 Breathitt County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.
Public transit is unusually rare in Breathitt County: 8.4 times less than the Kentucky average (0.1% vs 0.6%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Breathitt County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.
Biking is essentially absent in Breathitt County, versus 0.2% in Kentucky.
Commute Mode Trends in Breathitt County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Breathitt 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
92.6%
2.1%
4.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
2010
93.3%
2.2%
3.3%
0.2%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
93.4%
2.0%
3.4%
0.1%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2012
93.3%
1.8%
3.7%
0.0%
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
92.1%
1.7%
3.3%
1.3%
1.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
91.4%
1.8%
3.4%
2.5%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2015
90.6%
1.1%
3.7%
4.1%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
89.5%
1.2%
4.2%
4.5%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
90.7%
1.0%
3.0%
4.7%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
91.1%
1.2%
3.7%
4.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
91.5%
1.4%
4.1%
2.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2020
93.8%
1.9%
2.8%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
2021
92.6%
2.3%
4.0%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2022
91.8%
2.9%
4.1%
0.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
2023
91.4%
4.0%
3.4%
0.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2024
88.7%
7.0%
3.3%
0.8%
0.1%
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 peaked in 2020 at 93.8%. Overall it fell from 92.6% in 2009 to 88.7% in 2024, down 3.9 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 4 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Breathitt County: its share of workers rose from 2.1% in 2009 to 7.0% in 2024, up 4.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 4.5% to 3.3% of workers (down 1.2 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2023 release and has stayed ahead since.
Public transit peaked at 1.6% in 2013 and has since fallen back to 0.1%.
Commute Start Times in Breathitt County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Breathitt County?
The bars show when commuters in Breathitt 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 Kentucky for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMBreathitt County9.0%Kentucky5.9%
9.0%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMBreathitt County3.4%Kentucky4.3%
3.4%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMBreathitt County3.2%Kentucky5.3%
3.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMBreathitt County6.7%Kentucky8.3%
6.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMBreathitt County10.9%Kentucky10.3%
10.9%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMBreathitt County21.4%Kentucky14.8%
21.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMBreathitt County19.3%Kentucky12.4%
19.3%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMBreathitt County7.1%Kentucky9.6%
7.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMBreathitt County2.5%Kentucky4.5%
2.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMBreathitt County2.7%Kentucky5.2%
2.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMBreathitt County0.9%Kentucky2.5%
0.9%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMBreathitt County0.0%Kentucky1.3%
0.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMBreathitt County7.9%Kentucky7.3%
7.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMBreathitt County5.1%Kentucky8.4%
5.1%
Breathitt CountyKentuckySource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Breathitt County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 21.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.8% across Kentucky. Early starts are about as common as in Kentucky: 15.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.5% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Kentucky: 58.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (16.6%) 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 Breathitt 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 Breathitt 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 Breathitt County next to Kentucky 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
Breathitt County
Kentucky
United States
2009
7:29 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:35 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:30 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:29 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:35 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:31 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:26 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:25 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:28 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:25 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:28 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:26 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:24 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Breathitt County were on the road by 7:24 AM, 5 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:29 AM). The shift is sharper than across Kentucky, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Breathitt County now leave 14 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 Breathitt County has moved 2 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Breathitt County in the whole series.
How does Breathitt County's commute time compare?
Metric
Breathitt County
Kentucky
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.3 min
20.8 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
7.0%
10.2%
15.0%
Walked
3.3%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Breathitt County is 18.3 minutes, shorter than the 20.8 minutes in Kentucky.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Kentucky. 3.3% commute by walking, higher than the 2.0% in Kentucky.
Breathitt County, KY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Breathitt County, KY is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 13,276 residents against a local median of 7,339. The measure that sets Breathitt County, KY apart most is one-way commute: 18.3 min, 22% below the local median of 23.6 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 13.2 min on one-way commute, so Breathitt County, KY sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Breathitt County, KY has the 3rd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Breathitt County, Kentucky.
Is commuting expensive in Breathitt County, Kentucky?
Commuters here spend an estimated 153 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,737 at a typical national wage. That's 12% less than the typical Kentucky commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Breathitt County, Kentucky?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Breathitt County, Kentucky. 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 Breathitt County, Kentucky?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.1% of commuters use it versus 0.6% in Kentucky, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Kentucky?
Among counties in Kentucky, the shortest average commutes are in Calloway County (13.9 min), Owsley County (15.0 min), Taylor County (15.3 min). The longest are in Owen County (37.7 min), Spencer County (33.3 min), Bracken County (33.2 min).