Commuting in Lawrence 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, 7:58 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Lawrence County?
Map AI9/24/26, 7:58 PM
Commute Time Burden in Lawrence County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Lawrence County spend about 55 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 228 hours, about 9.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 32% more time on the road than the Kentucky average of 20.8 minutes each way, a difference of 6.5 minutes.
Lawrence County holds about 0.4% of Kentucky's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Lawrence County would save about 91 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,824 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)
Lawrence County
27.3 min
54.7 min
228 hrs/yr
$7,061
403
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
27.3
minutes to get to work in
Lawrence County.
That's 22% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 81% 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 5.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Lawrence County
Car:
91.9%
Worked at Home:
5.5%
Walked:
1.7%
Other:
0.6%
Public Transportation:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Lawrence County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Lawrence County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.
Biking is essentially absent in Lawrence County, versus 0.2% in Kentucky.
Commute Mode Trends in Lawrence County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Lawrence 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
94.4%
2.4%
2.5%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
97.4%
1.6%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
97.0%
1.6%
1.2%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
96.4%
1.8%
1.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
95.0%
1.6%
1.4%
1.9%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
93.5%
2.9%
1.3%
2.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2015
91.9%
3.8%
1.4%
2.8%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
92.1%
3.5%
0.9%
3.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
91.8%
3.5%
0.9%
3.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
92.3%
4.3%
0.7%
2.4%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
94.5%
2.3%
0.5%
2.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
97.0%
1.0%
0.3%
1.1%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
95.0%
3.2%
0.5%
0.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
95.8%
3.0%
0.3%
0.5%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
94.5%
4.5%
0.4%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
91.9%
5.5%
1.7%
0.6%
0.3%
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 2010 at 97.4% and lowest in 2017 at 91.8%. Overall it fell from 94.4% in 2009 to 91.9% in 2024, down 2.5 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Lawrence County: its share of workers rose from 2.4% in 2009 to 5.5% in 2024, up 3.1 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.2 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 2.5% to 1.7% of workers (down 0.8 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2010 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Lawrence County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Lawrence County?
The bars show when commuters in Lawrence 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 AMLawrence County8.2%Kentucky5.9%
8.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMLawrence County7.8%Kentucky4.3%
7.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMLawrence County3.2%Kentucky5.3%
3.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMLawrence County11.2%Kentucky8.3%
11.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMLawrence County9.5%Kentucky10.3%
9.5%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMLawrence County15.0%Kentucky14.8%
15.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMLawrence County12.4%Kentucky12.4%
12.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMLawrence County8.3%Kentucky9.6%
8.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMLawrence County4.8%Kentucky4.5%
4.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMLawrence County5.2%Kentucky5.2%
5.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMLawrence County1.1%Kentucky2.5%
1.1%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMLawrence County1.3%Kentucky1.3%
1.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMLawrence County3.8%Kentucky7.3%
3.8%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMLawrence County8.1%Kentucky8.4%
8.1%
Lawrence CountyKentuckySource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Lawrence County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.8% across Kentucky. Early starts are more common than in Kentucky: 19.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.5% there. The morning rush looks much like Kentucky's: 45.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.5%) 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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
Lawrence County
Kentucky
United States
2009
7:23 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:23 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:31 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:31 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:28 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:24 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:21 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:22 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:19 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:30 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:35 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:28 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:05 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:10 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:20 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Lawrence County were on the road by 7:20 AM, 3 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:23 AM). Kentucky followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Lawrence County now leave 18 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 Lawrence County has moved 10 minutes earlier.
How does Lawrence County's commute time compare?
Metric
Lawrence County
Kentucky
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
27.3 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
5.5%
10.2%
15.0%
Walked
1.7%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
0.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Lawrence County is 27.3 minutes, longer than the 20.8 minutes in Kentucky.
0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Kentucky. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Kentucky.
Lawrence County, KY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Lawrence County, KY is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 16,077 residents against a local median of 22,334. Where Lawrence County, KY breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 25% above the local median of 21.8 min at 27.3 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 13.5 min on one-way commute, so Lawrence County, KY sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Lawrence County, KY has the 5th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Lawrence County, Kentucky.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Lawrence County, Kentucky?
Commuters here spend an estimated 228 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,061 at a typical national wage. That's 32% more than the typical Kentucky commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Lawrence County, Kentucky?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Lawrence 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.
Which counties in Kentucky have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).