Anne Arundel County Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Anne Arundel County, Maryland: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Anne Arundel County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Anne Arundel County spend about 51 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 215 hours, about 8.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 9% less time on the road than the Maryland average of 28.3 minutes each way, a difference of 2.5 minutes.
Anne Arundel County holds about 9.6% of Maryland's population but accounts for roughly 8.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Anne Arundel County would save about 86 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,660 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Arundel County | 25.7 min | 51.5 min | 215 hrs/yr | $6,650 | 3,181 |
| Maryland | 28.3 min | 56.5 min | 236 hrs/yr | $7,301 | 2,353 |
| 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.
Commute Time Map: Maryland Counties
- Talbot County (17.8 min)
- Allegany County (17.8 min)
- Wicomico County (18.1 min)
- Charles County (40.0 min)
- Calvert County (33.6 min)
- Prince George's County (32.5 min)
Compare commute times among different counties
On average, it takes 25.7 minutes to get to work in Anne Arundel County. That's 15% longer 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 18.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Anne Arundel County
- Car: 76.9%
- Worked at Home: 18.5%
- Walked: 1.9%
- Public Transportation: 1.6%
- Other: 0.8%
- Taxi: 0.3%
- Bicycle: 0.1%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Anne Arundel County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Anne Arundel 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Public Transportation | Other | Taxi | Motorcycle | Bicycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 89.6% | 3.9% | 2.1% | 2.9% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| 2010 | 89.7% | 3.9% | 2.0% | 3.1% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| 2011 | 89.7% | 4.3% | 1.7% | 3.1% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2012 | 89.8% | 4.2% | 1.7% | 3.2% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2013 | 89.2% | 4.5% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 88.8% | 4.8% | 1.8% | 3.4% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2015 | 88.1% | 4.8% | 2.2% | 3.5% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2016 | 87.7% | 4.9% | 2.3% | 3.7% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2017 | 87.6% | 5.1% | 2.3% | 3.6% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2018 | 87.5% | 5.4% | 2.4% | 3.4% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2019 | 87.3% | 5.5% | 2.4% | 3.5% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2020 | 85.5% | 8.3% | 1.8% | 3.3% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2021 | 82.2% | 12.0% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2022 | 80.1% | 14.6% | 1.5% | 2.6% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2023 | 78.7% | 16.7% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2024 | 76.9% | 18.5% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2012 at 89.8%. Overall it fell from 89.6% in 2009 to 76.9% in 2024, down 12.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 12 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Anne Arundel County: its share of workers rose from 3.9% in 2009 to 18.5% in 2024, up 14.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 13.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.9% to 1.6% of workers (down 1.3 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Anne Arundel County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Anne Arundel County?
The bars show when commuters in Anne Arundel 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 Maryland for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Anne Arundel County4.9%
Maryland5.5%
|
4.9% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Anne Arundel County4.4%
Maryland4.5%
|
4.4% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Anne Arundel County5.5%
Maryland4.8%
|
5.5% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Anne Arundel County10.0%
Maryland9.2%
|
10.0% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Anne Arundel County9.8%
Maryland8.6%
|
9.8% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Anne Arundel County15.6%
Maryland14.0%
|
15.6% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Anne Arundel County11.3%
Maryland10.8%
|
11.3% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Anne Arundel County11.9%
Maryland11.9%
|
11.9% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Anne Arundel County5.5%
Maryland6.2%
|
5.5% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Anne Arundel County6.5%
Maryland7.9%
|
6.5% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Anne Arundel County2.6%
Maryland3.3%
|
2.6% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Anne Arundel County1.5%
Maryland1.5%
|
1.5% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Anne Arundel County5.4%
Maryland6.3%
|
5.4% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Anne Arundel County5.1%
Maryland5.5%
|
5.1% |
Anne Arundel County Maryland Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Anne Arundel County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.6% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.0% across Maryland. Early starts are about as common as in Maryland: 14.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Maryland: 48.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 45.3% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.2%) 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 Anne Arundel 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 Anne Arundel 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 Anne Arundel County next to Maryland 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 | Anne Arundel County | Maryland | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:31 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:32 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:31 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:31 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:30 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:29 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:28 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:29 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:28 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:28 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:28 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:29 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:28 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:30 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:31 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:30 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Anne Arundel County were on the road by 7:30 AM, 1 minute earlier than in 2009 (7:31 AM). That goes against the trend across Maryland, where the typical commuter now leaves 4 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Anne Arundel County now leave 8 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 Anne Arundel County has moved 2 minutes later.
How does Anne Arundel County's commute time compare?
| Metric | Anne Arundel County | Maryland | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 25.7 min | 28.3 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 | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 18.5% | 19.3% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.6% | 4.2% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Anne Arundel County is 25.7 minutes, shorter than the 28.3 minutes in Maryland.
1.6% commute by public transit, lower than the 4.2% in Maryland. 1.9% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Maryland.
Anne Arundel County, MD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Anne Arundel County, MD is the 4th largest of the 5 counties compared here, 597,957 residents against a local median of 764,548. The measure that sets Anne Arundel County, MD apart most is work from home: 18.5%, 16% below the local median of 22.0%.
The counties themselves spread 16.4% on work from home, so Anne Arundel County, MD sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Anne Arundel County, MD has the 3rd highest work from home of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Arundel County, MD | 597,957 | 25.7 min #1/5 | 18.5% #3/5 | 7:30 AM #2/5 |
| Prince George's County, MD | 959,665 | 32.5 min | 17.9% | 7:28 AM |
| Howard County, MD | 336,328 | 25.8 min | 26.0% | 7:55 AM |
| Baltimore County, MD | 850,783 | 25.9 min | 16.5% | 7:45 AM |
| District of Columbia, DC | 678,314 | 30.3 min | 32.9% | 8:18 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Anne Arundel County, Maryland?
Commuters here spend an estimated 215 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,650 at a typical national wage. That's 9% less than the typical Maryland commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Anne Arundel County, Maryland?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. 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.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Maryland?
Among counties in Maryland, the shortest average commutes are in Talbot County (17.8 min), Allegany County (17.8 min), Wicomico County (18.1 min). The longest are in Charles County (40.0 min), Calvert County (33.6 min), Prince George's County (32.5 min).