Commuting in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 11:43 AM
How much time do drivers in St. Mary Parish spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 11:43 AM
Commute Time Burden in St. Mary Parish: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in St. Mary Parish spend about 31 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 129 hours, about 5.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 27% less time on the road than the Louisiana average of 21.3 minutes each way, a difference of 5.8 minutes.
St. Mary Parish holds about 1.0% of Louisiana's population but accounts for roughly 0.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in St. Mary Parish would save about 52 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,600 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)
St. Mary Parish
15.5 min
31.0 min
129 hrs/yr
$4,000
771
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
15.5
minutes to get to work in
St. Mary Parish.
That's 31% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 3 fastest counties in Louisiana
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 St. Mary Parish
Car:
92.3%
Worked at Home:
5.5%
Walked:
1.4%
Bicycle:
0.5%
Other:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in St. Mary Parish, versus 0.1% in Louisiana.
Public transit is essentially absent in St. Mary Parish, versus 0.9% in Louisiana.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in St. Mary Parish, versus 0.2% in Louisiana.
Commute Mode Trends in St. Mary Parish, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in St. Mary 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
Bicycle
Other
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
92.5%
1.8%
2.8%
0.2%
1.0%
0.5%
1.0%
0.2%
2010
92.7%
1.7%
2.3%
0.3%
1.4%
0.3%
1.0%
0.2%
2011
93.6%
1.5%
2.0%
0.3%
1.3%
0.3%
0.7%
0.3%
2012
92.9%
1.4%
2.3%
0.4%
1.7%
0.4%
0.4%
0.4%
2013
93.6%
1.4%
2.2%
0.2%
1.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.5%
2014
93.6%
1.1%
2.1%
0.2%
2.1%
0.5%
0.2%
0.3%
2015
92.5%
1.4%
2.7%
0.3%
2.2%
0.4%
0.3%
0.3%
2016
91.9%
1.6%
2.9%
0.2%
2.3%
0.5%
0.3%
0.3%
2017
93.2%
1.5%
2.4%
0.2%
2.0%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2018
93.5%
1.6%
2.3%
0.1%
1.9%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
94.2%
2.4%
1.6%
0.1%
1.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2020
95.7%
2.2%
1.0%
0.2%
0.8%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2021
95.3%
2.6%
0.8%
0.3%
1.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
93.9%
3.6%
1.5%
0.3%
0.7%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
92.2%
5.2%
1.3%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
92.3%
5.5%
1.4%
0.5%
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 2020 at 95.7% and lowest in 2016 at 91.9%. Overall it held roughly steady, at 92.5% in 2009 and 92.3% in 2024.
Working from home gained the most ground in St. Mary Parish: its share of workers rose from 1.8% in 2009 to 5.5% in 2024, up 3.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 2.8% to 1.4% of workers (down 1.4 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2019 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in St. Mary Parish
What Time Do People Leave for Work in St. Mary Parish?
The bars show when commuters in St. Mary 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 AMSt. Mary Parish6.0%Louisiana8.3%
6.0%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSt. Mary Parish4.5%Louisiana4.7%
4.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSt. Mary Parish7.6%Louisiana5.4%
7.6%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSt. Mary Parish10.9%Louisiana10.1%
10.9%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSt. Mary Parish10.8%Louisiana10.8%
10.8%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSt. Mary Parish19.3%Louisiana16.1%
19.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSt. Mary Parish13.1%Louisiana11.9%
13.1%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSt. Mary Parish9.9%Louisiana9.6%
9.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSt. Mary Parish2.3%Louisiana3.9%
2.3%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSt. Mary Parish2.7%Louisiana5.0%
2.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSt. Mary Parish2.5%Louisiana2.3%
2.5%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSt. Mary Parish0.9%Louisiana1.0%
0.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSt. Mary Parish4.9%Louisiana5.4%
4.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSt. Mary Parish4.8%Louisiana5.3%
4.8%
St. Mary ParishLouisianaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in St. Mary Parish is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 19.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.1% across Louisiana. Early starts are about as common as in Louisiana: 18.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 18.5% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Louisiana: 53.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 48.5% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (15.7%) 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 St. Mary 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 St. Mary 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 St. Mary 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
St. Mary Parish
Louisiana
United States
2009
7:16 AM
7:23 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:17 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:17 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:17 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:19 AM
7:23 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:18 AM
7:23 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:16 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:11 AM
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:08 AM
7:22 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:07 AM
7:22 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:08 AM
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:11 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:17 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:20 AM
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:18 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:16 AM
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in St. Mary Parish were on the road by 7:16 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Louisiana, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in St. Mary Parish now leave 22 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 St. Mary Parish has moved 8 minutes later.
How does St. Mary Parish's commute time compare?
Metric
St. Mary Parish
Louisiana
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
15.5 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
5.5%
8.1%
15.0%
Walked
1.4%
1.8%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in St. Mary Parish is 15.5 minutes, shorter than the 21.3 minutes in Louisiana.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.9% in Louisiana. 1.4% commute by walking, lower than the 1.8% in Louisiana.
St. Mary Parish, LA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
St. Mary Parish, LA is typical in size for this group, 47,828 residents against a local median of 51,353, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where St. Mary Parish, LA breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 25% below the local median of 20.6 min at 15.5 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 9.1 min on one-way commute, so St. Mary Parish, LA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. St. Mary Parish, LA has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
What is the financial impact of commuting in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana?
Commuters here spend an estimated 129 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,000 at a typical national wage. That's 27% less than the typical Louisiana commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. 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.
Do people use public transit in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.9% in Louisiana, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Louisiana?
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).