Wakefield Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Wakefield, Massachusetts: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Wakefield: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Wakefield spend about 61 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 253 hours, about 10.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 19% more time on the road than the Massachusetts average of 25.6 minutes each way, a difference of 4.8 minutes.
Wakefield holds about 0.4% of Massachusetts's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Wakefield would save about 101 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,141 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 30.4 min | 60.8 min | 253 hrs/yr | $7,854 | 2,682 |
| 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.
Wakefield Commute Map
On average, it takes 30.4 minutes to get to work in Wakefield. That's 36% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 24.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Wakefield
- Car: 66.6%
- Worked at Home: 24.6%
- Public Transportation: 6.2%
- Walked: 2.2%
- Bicycle: 0.3%
- Other: 0.2%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
- Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Wakefield, versus 0.1% in Massachusetts.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Wakefield, versus 0.4% in Massachusetts.
Commute Mode Trends in Wakefield, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Wakefield 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Public Transportation | Walked | Bicycle | Other | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 85.5% | 2.6% | 10.4% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 84.8% | 3.2% | 10.2% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 85.8% | 3.4% | 9.2% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 85.1% | 4.1% | 9.1% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 85.3% | 4.5% | 8.7% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 85.3% | 4.2% | 7.9% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 85.1% | 3.8% | 7.9% | 2.2% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 83.9% | 4.0% | 8.8% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 84.8% | 3.6% | 8.3% | 1.7% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 84.1% | 4.0% | 8.1% | 2.2% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 83.0% | 4.1% | 9.1% | 2.0% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 77.6% | 9.7% | 9.4% | 1.9% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 73.3% | 15.2% | 8.5% | 2.0% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 69.0% | 20.3% | 8.0% | 1.8% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 67.9% | 22.2% | 6.9% | 2.4% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 66.6% | 24.6% | 6.2% | 2.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2011 at 85.8%. Overall it fell from 85.5% in 2009 to 66.6% in 2024, down 18.9 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Wakefield: its share of workers rose from 2.6% in 2009 to 24.6% in 2024, up 22.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 20.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 10.4% to 6.2% of workers (down 4.2 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Wakefield
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Wakefield?
The bars show when commuters in Wakefield 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.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Wakefield1.5%
Massachusetts3.7%
|
1.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Wakefield2.5%
Massachusetts3.3%
|
2.5% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Wakefield6.7%
Massachusetts4.1%
|
6.7% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Wakefield12.4%
Massachusetts8.4%
|
12.4% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Wakefield11.8%
Massachusetts9.5%
|
11.8% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Wakefield14.0%
Massachusetts14.3%
|
14.0% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Wakefield11.7%
Massachusetts11.7%
|
11.7% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Wakefield16.7%
Massachusetts13.5%
|
16.7% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Wakefield8.6%
Massachusetts7.1%
|
8.6% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Wakefield4.3%
Massachusetts7.7%
|
4.3% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Wakefield2.8%
Massachusetts3.2%
|
2.8% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Wakefield1.4%
Massachusetts1.5%
|
1.4% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Wakefield3.9%
Massachusetts7.1%
|
3.9% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Wakefield1.6%
Massachusetts4.9%
|
1.6% |
Wakefield Massachusetts Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Wakefield is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 16.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.5% across Massachusetts. Early starts are about as common as in Massachusetts: 10.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 11.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Massachusetts: 54.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.0% there. About 1 in 7 commuters (14.0%) 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 Wakefield, 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 Wakefield 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 Wakefield 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Wakefield | Massachusetts | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:32 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:33 AM | 7:48 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:42 AM | 7:48 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:44 AM | 7:49 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:42 AM | 7:49 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:42 AM | 7:48 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:42 AM | 7:48 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:38 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:39 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:40 AM | 7:46 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:39 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:39 AM | 7:46 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:36 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:35 AM | 7:46 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:37 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:33 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Wakefield were on the road by 7:33 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Massachusetts, the typical start barely moved either. Commuters in Wakefield now leave 5 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 Wakefield has moved 7 minutes earlier.
How does Wakefield's commute time compare?
| Metric | Wakefield | Massachusetts | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 30.4 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 | 24.6% | 18.6% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 2.2% | 4.1% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 6.2% | 6.5% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Wakefield is 30.4 minutes, longer than the 25.6 minutes in Massachusetts.
6.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 6.5% in Massachusetts. 2.2% commute by walking, lower than the 4.1% in Massachusetts.
Wakefield, MA Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
Wakefield, MA is typical in size for this group, 27,739 residents against a local median of 27,188, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Wakefield, MA sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these cities turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 9% below the local median at 24.6% against 27.1%. Wakefield, MA has the 3rd highest work from home of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield, MA | 27,739 | 30.4 min #4/5 | 24.6% #3/5 | 7:33 AM #1/5 |
| Stoneham, MA | 23,334 | 25.4 min | 24.6% | 7:49 AM |
| Melrose, MA | 29,648 | 32.9 min | 29.6% | 7:44 AM |
| Reading, MA | 25,603 | 28.1 min | 30.2% | 7:41 AM |
| Saugus, MA | 28,773 | 28.7 min | 14.3% | 7:45 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Wakefield, Massachusetts?
Commuters here spend an estimated 253 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,854 at a typical national wage. That's 19% more than the typical Massachusetts commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Wakefield, Massachusetts?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Wakefield, 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 Wakefield, Massachusetts?
About 24.6% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Wakefield would save about 101 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,141 at the same national wage assumption used above.