Commuting in Orleans Parish, Louisiana: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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What does a typical morning commute look like in Orleans Parish?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:45 PM
Commute Time Burden in Orleans Parish: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Orleans Parish spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 172 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 3% less time on the road than the Louisiana average of 21.3 minutes each way, a difference of 0.6 minutes.
Orleans Parish holds about 8.1% of Louisiana's population but accounts for roughly 7.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Orleans Parish would save about 69 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,139 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)
Orleans Parish
20.7 min
41.4 min
172 hrs/yr
$5,347
3,059
Louisiana
21.3 min
42.5 min
177 hrs/yr
$5,493
1,164
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
20.7
minutes to get to work in
Orleans Parish.
That's 8% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 14.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Orleans Parish
Car:
70.7%
Worked at Home:
14.9%
Walked:
5.7%unusually high
Public Transportation:
4.5%unusually high
Bicycle:
1.7%unusually high
Other:
1.5%
Taxi:
0.7%unusually high
Motorcycle:
0.2%unusually high
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Orleans Parish: 3.1 times more than the Louisiana average (0.2% vs 0.1%).
Walking is unusually common in Orleans Parish: 3.1 times more than the Louisiana average (5.7% vs 1.8%).
Public transit is unusually common in Orleans Parish: 5.2 times more than the Louisiana average (4.5% vs 0.9%).
Taking a taxi is unusually common in Orleans Parish: 3.5 times more than the Louisiana average (0.7% vs 0.2%).
Biking is unusually common in Orleans Parish: 5.3 times more than the Louisiana average (1.7% vs 0.3%).
Orleans Parish stands out for active commuting: 7.4% of workers walk or bike to work, 3.4 times the Louisiana average of 2.2%.
Commute Mode Trends in Orleans Parish, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Orleans Parish 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
Public Transportation
Bicycle
Other
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
79.8%
3.5%
5.0%
8.2%
1.4%
1.1%
0.8%
0.3%
2010
80.6%
3.4%
5.3%
7.0%
1.8%
1.0%
0.5%
0.4%
2011
80.9%
3.1%
5.5%
6.8%
1.9%
1.0%
0.5%
0.4%
2012
80.9%
3.2%
5.1%
6.9%
2.1%
1.1%
0.3%
0.4%
2013
80.2%
3.5%
5.1%
7.0%
2.5%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
2014
79.7%
3.4%
5.0%
7.6%
2.8%
1.1%
0.1%
0.3%
2015
79.1%
3.7%
4.8%
7.8%
3.0%
1.2%
0.1%
0.3%
2016
78.6%
4.3%
4.7%
7.7%
3.1%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3%
2017
77.7%
4.9%
5.0%
7.6%
3.2%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3%
2018
77.3%
5.2%
5.1%
7.5%
3.1%
1.3%
0.2%
0.3%
2019
77.0%
5.8%
5.4%
6.8%
3.1%
1.4%
0.3%
0.2%
2020
76.3%
7.7%
5.4%
5.7%
2.8%
1.4%
0.4%
0.3%
2021
74.5%
9.9%
5.4%
5.5%
2.6%
1.5%
0.5%
0.2%
2022
73.2%
11.3%
5.6%
5.3%
2.3%
1.6%
0.5%
0.2%
2023
71.9%
13.7%
5.6%
4.5%
1.9%
1.5%
0.6%
0.2%
2024
70.7%
14.9%
5.7%
4.5%
1.7%
1.5%
0.7%
0.2%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2011 at 80.9%. Overall it fell from 79.8% in 2009 to 70.7% in 2024, down 9.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 12 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Orleans Parish: its share of workers rose from 3.5% in 2009 to 14.9% in 2024, up 11.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 8.2% to 4.5% of workers (down 3.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2018 release and has stayed ahead since.
Biking peaked at 3.2% in 2017 and has since fallen back to 1.7%.
Commute Start Times in Orleans Parish
🦉Night OwlThe latest start among Louisiana's 64 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:57 AM.
😴Sleeping InThe highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Louisiana's 64 counties: 28.0% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Orleans Parish?
The bars show when commuters in Orleans Parish 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 Louisiana for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMOrleans Parish3.5%Louisiana8.3%
3.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMOrleans Parish2.3%Louisiana4.7%
2.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMOrleans Parish3.0%Louisiana5.4%
3.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMOrleans Parish6.4%Louisiana10.1%
6.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMOrleans Parish8.0%Louisiana10.8%
8.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMOrleans Parish14.9%Louisiana16.1%
14.9%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMOrleans Parish13.0%Louisiana11.9%
13.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMOrleans Parish13.2%Louisiana9.6%
13.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMOrleans Parish7.7%Louisiana3.9%
7.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMOrleans Parish9.6%Louisiana5.0%
9.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMOrleans Parish4.3%Louisiana2.3%
4.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMOrleans Parish1.5%Louisiana1.0%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMOrleans Parish6.9%Louisiana5.4%
6.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMOrleans Parish5.8%Louisiana5.3%
5.8%
Orleans ParishLouisianaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Orleans Parish is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.1% across Louisiana. Early starts are less common than in Louisiana: 8.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 18.5% there. The morning rush looks much like Louisiana's: 49.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 48.5% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (28.0%) 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 Orleans Parish, 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 Orleans Parish 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 Orleans Parish next to Louisiana 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
Orleans Parish
Louisiana
United States
2009
7:48 AM
7:23 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:49 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:49 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:49 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:49 AM
7:23 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:51 AM
7:23 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:51 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:50 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:51 AM
7:22 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:51 AM
7:22 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:51 AM
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:55 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:54 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:56 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:58 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:58 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Orleans Parish were on the road by 7:58 AM, 9 minutes later than in 2009 (7:48 AM). That goes against the trend across Louisiana, where the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Orleans Parish now leave 20 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 Orleans Parish has moved 7 minutes later.
How does Orleans Parish's commute time compare?
Metric
Orleans Parish
Louisiana
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
20.7 min
21.3 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
14.9%
8.1%
15.0%
Walked
5.7%
1.8%
2.4%
Public Transit
4.5%
0.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Orleans Parish is about the same as in Louisiana.
4.5% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.9% in Louisiana. 5.7% commute by walking, higher than the 1.8% in Louisiana.
Orleans Parish, LA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Orleans Parish, LA is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 371,664 residents against a local median of 51,396. Orleans Parish, LA's work from home, at 14.9%, runs 81% above the 8.2% typical of the counties around it.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 20.7 min against a local median of 26.8 min, 23% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 23% below the local median it puts Orleans Parish, LA at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 6.8% on work from home, so Orleans Parish, LA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Orleans Parish, LA has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Orleans Parish, Louisiana.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Orleans Parish, Louisiana?
Commuters here spend an estimated 172 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,347 at a typical national wage. That's 3% less than the typical Louisiana commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Orleans Parish, Louisiana?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Do people use public transit in Orleans Parish, Louisiana?
Public transit usage is notably higher here than typical: about 4.5% of commuters use it versus 0.9% in Louisiana, making it a realistic option for many workers.
How much time do residents in Orleans Parish, Louisiana save by working from home?
About 14.9% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Orleans Parish would save about 69 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,139 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Which counties in Louisiana have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Louisiana, the shortest average commutes are in East Carroll Parish (11.4 min), Madison Parish (13.1 min), St. Mary Parish (15.5 min). The longest are in West Feliciana Parish (32.8 min), East Feliciana Parish (32.8 min), St. Helena Parish (32.4 min).