Commuting in Frederick County, Maryland: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 4:50 PM
Is the commute in Frederick County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 4:50 PM
Commute Time Burden in Frederick County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Frederick County spend about 54 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 226 hours, about 9.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 4% less time on the road than the Maryland average of 28.3 minutes each way, a difference of 1.2 minutes.
Frederick County holds about 4.6% of Maryland's population but accounts for roughly 4.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Frederick County would save about 90 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,796 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)
Frederick County
27.1 min
54.1 min
226 hrs/yr
$6,991
1,427
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.
On average, it takes
27.1
minutes to get to work in
Frederick County.
That's 21% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 21.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Frederick County
Car:
74.7%
Worked at Home:
21.2%
Walked:
1.8%
Public Transportation:
1.1%unusually low
Other:
0.7%
Taxi:
0.3%
Bicycle:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public transit is unusually rare in Frederick County: 3.9 times less than the Maryland average (1.1% vs 4.2%).
Commute Mode Trends in Frederick County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Frederick 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
Public Transportation
Other
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
90.4%
4.7%
2.2%
1.9%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2010
89.9%
4.9%
2.0%
2.2%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2011
89.2%
5.6%
2.0%
2.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
2012
88.5%
6.1%
2.1%
2.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
2013
88.1%
6.0%
2.2%
2.7%
0.4%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
2014
87.5%
6.2%
2.2%
3.0%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2015
87.7%
6.3%
2.1%
2.9%
0.5%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2016
87.2%
6.5%
2.2%
2.9%
0.6%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2017
87.7%
6.1%
2.1%
2.9%
0.7%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2018
87.9%
6.3%
1.9%
2.7%
0.6%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2019
88.0%
6.7%
1.8%
2.4%
0.6%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2020
85.2%
9.6%
1.9%
2.1%
0.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
82.3%
13.2%
1.8%
1.6%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2022
79.6%
16.3%
1.5%
1.3%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
76.6%
19.2%
1.6%
1.1%
0.8%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2024
74.7%
21.2%
1.8%
1.1%
0.7%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 90.4% in 2009 to 74.7% in 2024, down 15.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Frederick County: its share of workers rose from 4.7% in 2009 to 21.2% in 2024, up 16.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 14.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.9% to 1.1% of workers (down 0.8 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Frederick County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Frederick County?
The bars show when commuters in Frederick 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 AMFrederick County6.3%Maryland5.5%
6.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMFrederick County5.2%Maryland4.5%
5.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMFrederick County6.7%Maryland4.8%
6.7%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMFrederick County9.4%Maryland9.2%
9.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMFrederick County9.7%Maryland8.6%
9.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMFrederick County13.3%Maryland14.0%
13.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMFrederick County11.4%Maryland10.8%
11.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMFrederick County10.9%Maryland11.9%
10.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMFrederick County5.4%Maryland6.2%
5.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMFrederick County6.7%Maryland7.9%
6.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMFrederick County2.8%Maryland3.3%
2.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMFrederick County1.4%Maryland1.5%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMFrederick County5.5%Maryland6.3%
5.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMFrederick County5.6%Maryland5.5%
5.6%
Frederick CountyMarylandSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Frederick County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.0% across Maryland. Early starts are more common than in Maryland: 18.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush looks much like Maryland's: 45.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 45.3% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (21.9%) 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 Frederick 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 Frederick 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 Frederick 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.
Median time commuters leave home, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.Show typical departure times by year
Year
Frederick County
Maryland
United States
2009
7:24 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:25 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:26 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:26 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:24 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:25 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:24 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:26 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:26 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
7:29 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Frederick County were on the road by 7:29 AM, 5 minutes later than in 2009 (7:24 AM). Maryland followed the same path, with the typical start moving 4 minutes later. Commuters in Frederick County now leave 9 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 Frederick County has moved 3 minutes later.
How does Frederick County's commute time compare?
Metric
Frederick County
Maryland
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
27.1 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
21.2%
19.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.8%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.1%
4.2%
3.2%
The average commute time in Frederick County is 27.1 minutes, shorter than the 28.3 minutes in Maryland.
1.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 4.2% in Maryland. 1.8% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Maryland.
Frederick County, MD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Frederick County, MD is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 287,011 residents against a local median of 175,325. Where Frederick County, MD breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 23% above the local median of 17.3% at 21.2%.
The counties themselves spread 19.5% on work from home, so Frederick County, MD sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Frederick County, MD has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Frederick County, Maryland.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Frederick County, Maryland?
Commuters here spend an estimated 226 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,991 at a typical national wage. That's 4% less than the typical Maryland commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Frederick County, Maryland?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Frederick County, Maryland. 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 Frederick County, Maryland?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 1.1% of commuters use it versus 4.2% in Maryland, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
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).