Commuting in Nantucket County, Massachusetts: 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 Nantucket County?
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Commute Time Burden in Nantucket County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Nantucket County spend about 26 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 107 hours, about 4.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 50% less time on the road than the Massachusetts average of 25.6 minutes each way, a difference of 12.7 minutes.
Nantucket County holds about 0.2% of Massachusetts's population but accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Nantucket County would save about 43 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,325 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)
Nantucket County
12.8 min
25.6 min
107 hrs/yr
$3,313
1,294
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
12.8
minutes to get to work in
Nantucket County.
That's 43% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Fastest county in Massachusetts
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 13.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Nantucket County
Car:
73.9%
Worked at Home:
13.0%
Walked:
6.4%
Bicycle:
4.5%unusually high
Other:
1.5%
Public Transportation:
0.7%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Nantucket County, versus 0.1% in Massachusetts.
Public transit is unusually rare in Nantucket County: 8.8 times less than the Massachusetts average (0.7% vs 6.5%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Nantucket County, versus 0.4% in Massachusetts.
Biking is unusually common in Nantucket County: 5.6 times more than the Massachusetts average (4.5% vs 0.8%).
Commute Mode Trends in Nantucket County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Nantucket 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
Bicycle
Other
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
73.9%
9.5%
12.5%
2.1%
0.6%
0.8%
0.3%
0.3%
2010
73.8%
9.6%
11.9%
2.3%
1.1%
0.8%
0.3%
0.3%
2011
80.9%
7.7%
8.6%
1.1%
1.0%
0.1%
0.6%
0.0%
2012
77.9%
7.4%
10.1%
2.7%
1.0%
0.3%
0.6%
0.0%
2013
76.1%
5.6%
11.2%
4.1%
0.8%
1.4%
0.6%
0.2%
2014
80.1%
3.8%
8.0%
3.8%
0.7%
1.8%
0.5%
1.2%
2015
77.5%
4.4%
10.1%
4.5%
0.2%
1.3%
0.8%
1.2%
2016
74.4%
4.8%
12.0%
5.1%
0.2%
1.7%
0.3%
1.4%
2017
75.6%
5.3%
12.3%
3.1%
0.1%
1.6%
0.4%
1.7%
2018
80.0%
5.9%
10.2%
1.8%
0.1%
0.5%
0.1%
1.3%
2019
79.5%
7.0%
10.3%
1.8%
0.2%
0.7%
0.1%
0.5%
2020
76.6%
6.8%
14.1%
0.9%
0.3%
1.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2021
80.7%
7.0%
8.7%
2.0%
0.7%
0.8%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
78.5%
10.3%
7.1%
1.9%
0.7%
1.4%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
77.5%
11.8%
5.9%
2.7%
1.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
73.9%
13.0%
6.4%
4.5%
1.5%
0.7%
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 2011 at 80.9% and lowest in 2010 at 73.8%. Overall it held roughly steady, at 73.9% in 2009 and 73.9% in 2024. It has fallen in each of the last 3 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Nantucket County: its share of workers rose from 9.5% in 2009 to 13.0% in 2024, up 3.5 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 12.5% to 6.4% of workers (down 6.1 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2022 release and has stayed ahead since.
Riding a motorcycle peaked at 1.7% in 2017 and has since fallen back to 0.0%.
Commute Start Times in Nantucket County
🚦Rush-Hour RegularsThe 2nd-highest share of rush-hour departures among Massachusetts's 14 counties: 63.6% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.
🛌Hitting SnoozeThe 2nd-biggest shift to later mornings among Massachusetts's 14 counties: the typical start is 11 minutes later than in 2009.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Nantucket County?
The bars show when commuters in Nantucket 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.
Nantucket CountyMassachusettsSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Nantucket County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 24.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.7% across Massachusetts. Early starts are less common than in Massachusetts: 4.5% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 11.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Massachusetts: 63.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.0% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (18.7%) 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 Nantucket 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 Nantucket 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 Nantucket 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
Nantucket County
Massachusetts
United States
2009
7:45 AM
7:47 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:54 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:59 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:54 AM
7:49 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:48 AM
7:49 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:49 AM
7:48 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:48 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:49 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:48 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:54 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:50 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:49 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:51 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:55 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2023
8:00 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:57 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Nantucket County were on the road by 7:57 AM, 11 minutes later than in 2009 (7:45 AM). Across Massachusetts, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Nantucket 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 Nantucket County has moved 7 minutes later.
How does Nantucket County's commute time compare?
Metric
Nantucket County
Massachusetts
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
12.8 min
25.6 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
13.0%
18.6%
15.0%
Walked
6.4%
4.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.7%
6.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Nantucket County is 12.8 minutes, shorter than the 25.6 minutes in Massachusetts.
0.7% commute by public transit, lower than the 6.5% in Massachusetts. 6.4% commute by walking, higher than the 4.1% in Massachusetts.
Nantucket County, MA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Nantucket County, MA is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 14,483 residents against a local median of 231,272. Nantucket County, MA's one-way commute, at 12.8 min, runs 32% below the 18.8 min typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 13.0% against a local median of 16.0%, 19% below it. The counties themselves spread 12.7 min on one-way commute, so Nantucket County, MA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Nantucket County, MA has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Nantucket County, Massachusetts.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Nantucket County, Massachusetts?
Commuters here spend an estimated 107 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,313 at a typical national wage. That's 50% less than the typical Massachusetts commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Nantucket County, Massachusetts?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Nantucket County, Massachusetts. 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 Nantucket County, Massachusetts?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.7% of commuters use it versus 6.5% in Massachusetts, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Massachusetts?
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).