Commuting in Somerset 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, 8:22 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Somerset County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:22 PM
Commute Time Burden in Somerset County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Somerset County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 175 hours, about 7.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 26% less time on the road than the Maryland average of 28.3 minutes each way, a difference of 7.3 minutes.
Somerset County holds about 0.4% of Maryland's population but accounts for roughly 0.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Somerset County would save about 70 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,169 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)
Somerset County
21.0 min
42.0 min
175 hrs/yr
$5,423
692
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
21.0
minutes to get to work in
Somerset County.
That's 6% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 74% of counties in Maryland
The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 9.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Somerset County
Car:
86.0%
Worked at Home:
9.2%
Walked:
3.5%
Bicycle:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
0.4%unusually high
Public Transportation:
0.3%unusually low
Other:
0.2%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually common in Somerset County: 6.1 times more than the Maryland average (0.4% vs 0.1%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Somerset County: 15.4 times less than the Maryland average (0.3% vs 4.2%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Somerset County, versus 0.5% in Maryland.
Commute Mode Trends in Somerset County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Somerset 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
Motorcycle
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Other
Taxi
2009
84.5%
2.7%
8.2%
0.2%
0.6%
1.8%
1.9%
0.1%
2010
83.6%
3.5%
8.5%
0.2%
0.5%
1.5%
2.0%
0.2%
2011
85.9%
4.1%
6.7%
0.1%
0.3%
1.3%
1.4%
0.2%
2012
84.3%
5.9%
6.2%
0.2%
0.3%
1.9%
1.1%
0.1%
2013
85.5%
5.5%
5.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2.2%
1.3%
0.2%
2014
86.8%
5.9%
3.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2.3%
1.7%
0.0%
2015
89.2%
4.7%
3.2%
0.0%
0.0%
1.2%
1.8%
0.0%
2016
87.6%
5.1%
4.5%
0.0%
0.0%
1.3%
1.5%
0.0%
2017
87.8%
4.5%
5.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.8%
1.2%
0.1%
2018
88.2%
3.5%
6.1%
0.0%
0.7%
0.6%
0.8%
0.1%
2019
87.6%
3.3%
6.5%
0.0%
0.5%
0.8%
0.7%
0.6%
2020
84.8%
5.3%
6.0%
0.0%
1.1%
0.7%
0.9%
1.1%
2021
83.9%
6.5%
5.5%
0.0%
1.4%
0.5%
0.5%
1.7%
2022
84.8%
6.8%
3.7%
0.0%
1.7%
0.4%
0.7%
1.9%
2023
84.1%
8.8%
4.0%
0.0%
0.5%
0.4%
0.7%
1.6%
2024
86.0%
9.2%
3.5%
0.4%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2015 at 89.2% and lowest in 2010 at 83.6%. Overall it rose from 84.5% in 2009 to 86.0% in 2024, up 1.5 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Somerset County: its share of workers rose from 2.7% in 2009 to 9.2% in 2024, up 6.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 8.2% to 3.5% of workers (down 4.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.
Taking a taxi peaked at 1.9% in 2022 and has since fallen back to 0.0%.
Commute Start Times in Somerset County
⏰Earlier AlarmsThe 3rd-biggest shift to earlier mornings among Maryland's 24 counties: the typical start is 11 minutes earlier than in 2009.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Somerset County?
The bars show when commuters in Somerset 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 AMSomerset County8.2%Maryland5.5%
8.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSomerset County4.6%Maryland4.5%
4.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSomerset County2.9%Maryland4.8%
2.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSomerset County13.4%Maryland9.2%
13.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSomerset County8.1%Maryland8.6%
8.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSomerset County13.2%Maryland14.0%
13.2%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSomerset County12.8%Maryland10.8%
12.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSomerset County15.3%Maryland11.9%
15.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSomerset County3.0%Maryland6.2%
3.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSomerset County4.3%Maryland7.9%
4.3%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSomerset County2.6%Maryland3.3%
2.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSomerset County1.2%Maryland1.5%
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSomerset County5.9%Maryland6.3%
5.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSomerset County4.8%Maryland5.5%
4.8%
Somerset CountyMarylandSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Somerset County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 15.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.9% across Maryland. Early starts are about as common as in Maryland: 15.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Maryland: 49.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 45.3% 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 Somerset 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 Somerset 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 Somerset 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
Somerset County
Maryland
United States
2009
7:41 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:40 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:34 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:30 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:35 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:36 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:33 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
7:36 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:48 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:29 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Somerset County were on the road by 7:29 AM, 11 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:41 AM). That goes against the trend across Maryland, where the typical commuter now leaves 4 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Somerset 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 Somerset County has moved 7 minutes earlier.
How does Somerset County's commute time compare?
Metric
Somerset County
Maryland
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
21.0 min
28.3 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
06:00 AM – 06:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
9.2%
19.3%
15.0%
Walked
3.5%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
4.2%
3.2%
The average commute time in Somerset County is 21.0 minutes, shorter than the 28.3 minutes in Maryland.
0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 4.2% in Maryland. 3.5% commute by walking, higher than the 2.0% in Maryland.
Somerset County, MD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Somerset County, MD is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 24,822 residents against a local median of 33,335. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest counties, which makes Somerset County, MD an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 14% above the local median at 9.2% against 8.1%. Somerset County, MD has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Somerset County, Maryland.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Somerset County, Maryland?
Commuters here spend an estimated 175 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,423 at a typical national wage. That's 26% less than the typical Maryland commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Somerset County, Maryland?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Somerset County, Maryland. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Do people use public transit in Somerset County, Maryland?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.3% 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).