Commuting in Middlesex County, Massachusetts: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 5:56 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Middlesex County?
Map AI9/24/26, 5:56 PM
Commute Time Burden in Middlesex County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Middlesex County spend about 57 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 237 hours, about 9.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 11% more time on the road than the Massachusetts average of 25.6 minutes each way, a difference of 2.9 minutes.
Middlesex County holds about 23.3% of Massachusetts's population but accounts for roughly 25.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Middlesex County would save about 95 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,939 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)
Middlesex County
28.4 min
56.9 min
237 hrs/yr
$7,347
2,884
Massachusetts
25.6 min
51.1 min
213 hrs/yr
$6,603
2,164
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
28.4
minutes to get to work in
Middlesex County.
That's 27% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the 3 slowest counties in Massachusetts
The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 24.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Middlesex County
Car:
60.6%
Worked at Home:
24.7%
Public Transportation:
7.2%
Walked:
4.2%
Bicycle:
1.5%
Other:
1.4%
Taxi:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Middlesex County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Middlesex 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
Public Transportation
Walked
Bicycle
Other
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
78.4%
4.3%
10.6%
4.6%
1.2%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2010
78.0%
4.5%
10.8%
4.6%
1.2%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2011
77.7%
4.8%
10.7%
4.7%
1.2%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2012
77.7%
4.7%
10.7%
4.8%
1.3%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2013
77.5%
4.8%
10.9%
4.8%
1.3%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2014
77.0%
5.0%
11.0%
4.8%
1.3%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2015
76.4%
5.2%
11.4%
4.9%
1.4%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
2016
75.6%
5.3%
11.8%
5.0%
1.4%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
2017
75.0%
5.6%
12.1%
5.0%
1.5%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
74.2%
5.8%
12.4%
5.0%
1.6%
0.8%
0.2%
0.1%
2019
74.0%
5.8%
12.5%
5.0%
1.6%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
2020
70.8%
10.2%
11.4%
4.9%
1.5%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
2021
67.3%
15.6%
9.8%
4.6%
1.5%
1.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2022
64.6%
19.4%
8.8%
4.3%
1.4%
1.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2023
62.4%
22.2%
7.9%
4.2%
1.6%
1.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2024
60.6%
24.7%
7.2%
4.2%
1.5%
1.4%
0.3%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 78.4% in 2009 to 60.6% in 2024, down 17.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 12 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Middlesex County: its share of workers rose from 4.3% in 2009 to 24.7% in 2024, up 20.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 18.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 10.6% to 7.2% of workers (down 3.4 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Middlesex County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Middlesex County?
The bars show when commuters in Middlesex 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 Massachusetts for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
Middlesex CountyMassachusettsSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Middlesex County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 15.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.5% across Massachusetts. Early starts are less common than in Massachusetts: 8.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 11.1% there. The morning rush looks much like Massachusetts's: 50.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (25.0%) 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex County next to Massachusetts 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
Middlesex County
Massachusetts
United States
2009
7:53 AM
7:47 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:54 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:55 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:55 AM
7:49 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:55 AM
7:49 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:56 AM
7:48 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:55 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:55 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:54 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:54 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:53 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:53 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:52 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:54 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:56 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:57 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Middlesex County were on the road by 7:57 AM, 3 minutes later than in 2009 (7:53 AM). Across Massachusetts, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Middlesex County now leave 19 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 Middlesex County has moved 4 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Middlesex County in the whole series.
How does Middlesex County's commute time compare?
Metric
Middlesex County
Massachusetts
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
28.4 min
25.6 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
24.7%
18.6%
15.0%
Walked
4.2%
4.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
7.2%
6.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Middlesex County is 28.4 minutes, longer than the 25.6 minutes in Massachusetts.
7.2% commute by public transit, higher than the 6.5% in Massachusetts. 4.2% commute by walking, higher than the 4.1% in Massachusetts.
Middlesex County, MA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Middlesex County, MA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 1,636,094 residents against a local median of 779,263. The measure that sets Middlesex County, MA apart most is work from home: 24.7%, 36% above the local median of 18.1%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 28.4 min against a local median of 24.0 min, 19% above it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 19% above the local median it puts Middlesex County, MA at the weaker end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 7.3% on work from home, so Middlesex County, MA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Middlesex County, MA has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Is commuting expensive in Middlesex County, Massachusetts?
Commuters here spend an estimated 237 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,347 at a typical national wage. That's 11% more than the typical Massachusetts commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Middlesex County, Massachusetts?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
How much money can remote workers save in Middlesex County, Massachusetts?
About 24.7% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Middlesex County would save about 95 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,939 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Which counties in Massachusetts have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Massachusetts, the shortest average commutes are in Nantucket County (12.8 min), Dukes County (15.4 min), Berkshire County (16.8 min). The longest are in Norfolk County (31.0 min), Suffolk County (30.4 min), Middlesex County (28.4 min).