Commuting in Powell 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, 11:59 AM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Powell County?
Map AI9/24/26, 11:59 AM
Commute Time Burden in Powell County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Powell County spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 192 hours, about 8.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 11% more time on the road than the Kentucky average of 20.8 minutes each way, a difference of 2.2 minutes.
Powell 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 Powell County would save about 77 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,378 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)
Powell County
23.0 min
46.0 min
192 hrs/yr
$5,946
347
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
23.0
minutes to get to work in
Powell County.
That's 3% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 4.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Powell County
Car:
94.8%
Worked at Home:
4.0%
Walked:
0.9%
Other:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.
Public transit is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 0.6% in Kentucky.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 0.1% in Kentucky.
Biking is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 0.2% in Kentucky.
Commute Mode Trends in Powell County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Powell 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
94.6%
3.5%
0.8%
0.0%
1.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
94.9%
2.9%
0.7%
0.6%
0.9%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2011
94.1%
3.2%
0.9%
0.7%
1.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
95.8%
2.0%
0.6%
1.0%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
95.7%
1.7%
0.7%
0.8%
0.6%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
2014
96.5%
1.5%
0.2%
0.9%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
2015
96.1%
1.8%
1.1%
0.6%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
95.8%
1.4%
1.8%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2017
95.9%
1.0%
1.7%
1.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2018
96.7%
0.9%
1.4%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
95.6%
2.2%
1.4%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
96.7%
2.1%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
95.8%
3.1%
0.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
94.5%
3.9%
0.8%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
94.3%
4.6%
0.8%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
94.8%
4.0%
0.9%
0.3%
0.0%
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 2018 at 96.7% and lowest in 2011 at 94.1%. Overall it held roughly steady, at 94.6% in 2009 and 94.8% in 2024. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Powell County: its share of workers rose from 3.5% in 2009 to 4.0% in 2024, up 0.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 1.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.1% to 0.0% of workers (down 1.1 percentage points).
Walking overtook public transit to become the 3rd most common choice in the 2015 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Powell County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Powell County?
The bars show when commuters in Powell 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 AMPowell County9.2%Kentucky5.9%
9.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMPowell County5.9%Kentucky4.3%
5.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMPowell County6.1%Kentucky5.3%
6.1%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMPowell County7.0%Kentucky8.3%
7.0%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMPowell County14.8%Kentucky10.3%
14.8%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMPowell County16.8%Kentucky14.8%
16.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMPowell County7.2%Kentucky12.4%
7.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMPowell County4.7%Kentucky9.6%
4.7%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMPowell County2.9%Kentucky4.5%
2.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMPowell County4.6%Kentucky5.2%
4.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMPowell County8.2%Kentucky2.5%
8.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMPowell County2.3%Kentucky1.3%
2.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMPowell County7.5%Kentucky7.3%
7.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMPowell County2.8%Kentucky8.4%
2.8%
Powell CountyKentuckySource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Powell County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 16.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.8% across Kentucky. Early starts are more common than in Kentucky: 21.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Kentucky: 43.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (25.4%) 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 Powell 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 Powell 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 Powell 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
Powell County
Kentucky
United States
2009
7:14 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:16 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:18 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:19 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:18 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:20 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:27 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:27 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:31 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:27 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:23 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:20 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:07 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:07 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:13 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Powell County were on the road by 7:13 AM, 2 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:14 AM). Kentucky followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Powell County now leave 25 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 Powell County has moved 14 minutes earlier.
How does Powell County's commute time compare?
Metric
Powell County
Kentucky
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
23.0 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
06:30 AM – 06:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
4.0%
10.2%
15.0%
Walked
0.9%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Powell County is 23.0 minutes, longer than the 20.8 minutes in Kentucky.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Kentucky. 0.9% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Kentucky.
Powell County, KY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Powell County, KY is typical in size for this group, 13,038 residents against a local median of 12,851, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where Powell County, KY breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 45% below the local median of 7.3% at 4.0%.
The counties themselves spread 3.1% on work from home, so Powell County, KY sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Powell County, KY has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Powell County, Kentucky.
Is commuting expensive in Powell County, Kentucky?
Commuters here spend an estimated 192 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,946 at a typical national wage. That's 11% more than the typical Kentucky commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Powell County, Kentucky?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Powell County, Kentucky. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Do people use public transit in Powell County, Kentucky?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.6% in Kentucky, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
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).