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Lee County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Lee County, Kentucky: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 8:02 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Lee County?
Map AI 9/24/26, 8:02 PM

Commute Time Burden in Lee County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Lee County spend about 47 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 196 hours, about 8.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 13% more time on the road than the Kentucky average of 20.8 minutes each way, a difference of 2.8 minutes.

Lee County holds about 0.2% of Kentucky's population and accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Lee County would save about 79 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,437 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)
Lee County 23.6 min 47.2 min 196 hrs/yr $6,091 222
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.

Commute Time Map: Kentucky Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in Kentucky
  1. Calloway County (13.9 min)
  2. Owsley County (15.0 min)
  3. Taylor County (15.3 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in Kentucky
  1. Owen County (37.7 min)
  2. Spencer County (33.3 min)
  3. Bracken County (33.2 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Lee County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 23.6 minutes to get to work in Lee County. That's 5% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 12:00 AM – 04:59 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 Lee County

  • Car: 88.5%
  • Worked at Home: 7.3%
  • Other: 2.3%
  • Walked: 1.8%
  • 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 Lee County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.

Public transit is unusually rare in Lee County: 7.2 times less than the Kentucky average (0.1% vs 0.6%).

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Lee County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.

Biking is essentially absent in Lee County, versus 0.2% in Kentucky.

Commute Mode Trends in Lee County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Lee 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 Other Walked Public Transportation Taxi Motorcycle Bicycle
2009 94.0% 0.7% 2.1% 3.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2010 96.2% 0.5% 1.4% 1.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2011 96.0% 0.6% 1.6% 1.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2012 94.7% 0.9% 2.4% 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2013 96.1% 1.0% 0.8% 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2014 96.1% 0.6% 2.4% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2015 95.5% 0.8% 2.5% 1.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2016 95.7% 0.3% 3.2% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2017 90.4% 0.5% 4.2% 3.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5%
2018 91.2% 1.4% 3.3% 2.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.6%
2019 91.3% 1.3% 1.5% 4.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5%
2020 90.1% 3.1% 0.9% 4.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.6%
2021 88.4% 5.4% 1.1% 3.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4%
2022 86.9% 8.0% 3.6% 1.4% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 88.2% 6.4% 3.2% 2.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 88.5% 7.3% 2.3% 1.8% 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 was highest in 2010 at 96.2% and lowest in 2022 at 86.9%. Overall it fell from 94.0% in 2009 to 88.5% in 2024, down 5.5 percentage points. It has risen in each of the last 2 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Lee County: its share of workers rose from 0.7% in 2009 to 7.3% in 2024, up 6.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Walking lost the most ground, falling from 3.2% to 1.8% of workers (down 1.4 percentage points).

Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.

Biking peaked at 1.6% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 0.0%.

Commute Start Times in Lee County

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Lee County?

The bars show when commuters in Lee 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
15.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
7.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
7.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
8.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
12.1%
7:30-7:59 AM
15.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
7.0%
8:30-8:59 AM
5.2%
9:00-9:59 AM
3.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
0.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
3.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
5.1%
4:00-11:59 PM
3.9%

Lee County Kentucky Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Lee County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 15.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.4% across Kentucky. Early starts are more common than in Kentucky: 28.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Kentucky: 42.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (16.1%) 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 Lee 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 Lee 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 Lee 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 Lee County Kentucky United States
2009 7:28 AM 7:35 AM 7:37 AM
2010 7:25 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM
2011 7:17 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:12 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM
2013 7:21 AM 7:35 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:26 AM 7:35 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:26 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:27 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:42 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:37 AM 7:34 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:31 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:19 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:24 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:25 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:20 AM 7:32 AM 7:38 AM
2024 7:15 AM 7:33 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Lee County were on the road by 7:15 AM, 13 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:28 AM). The shift is sharper than across Kentucky, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Lee County now leave 23 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 Lee County has moved 16 minutes earlier.

How does Lee County's commute time compare?

Metric Lee County Kentucky US Average
Avg. Commute Time 23.6 min 20.8 min 22.4 min
Departure Window 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 7.3% 10.2% 15.0%
Walked 1.8% 2.0% 2.4%
Public Transit < 0.1% 0.6% 3.2%

The average commute time in Lee County is 23.6 minutes, longer than the 20.8 minutes in Kentucky.

0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Kentucky. 1.8% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Kentucky.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Lee County, KY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Lee County, KY is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 7,339 residents against a local median of 13,038. Nothing separates Lee County, KY sharply from the counties around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.

The largest of those small differences is one-way commute, 14% below the local median at 23.6 min against 27.5 min. Lee County, KY has the 3rd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Lee County, KY 7,339 23.6 min #3/6 7.3% #3/6 7:15 AM #3/6
Owsley County, KY 3,971 15.0 min 9.1% 7:45 AM
Powell County, KY 13,038 23.0 min 4.0% 7:13 AM
Wolfe County, KY 6,443 28.3 min 6.2% 7:13 AM
Estill County, KY 14,035 27.5 min 7.0% 7:28 AM
Jackson County, KY 13,086 32.2 min 7.9% 7:49 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Lee County, Kentucky.

Is living in Lee County, Kentucky good for avoiding long commute costs?

Commuters here spend an estimated 196 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,091 at a typical national wage. That's 13% more than the typical Kentucky commuter spends.

When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Lee County, Kentucky?

Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Lee County, Kentucky. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Do people use public transit in Lee 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.

Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among 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).