Commuting in Penobscot County, Maine: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 2:27 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Penobscot County?
Map AI9/24/26, 2:27 PM
Commute Time Burden in Penobscot County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Penobscot County spend about 36 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 151 hours, about 6.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 13% less time on the road than the Maine average of 20.8 minutes each way, a difference of 2.7 minutes.
Penobscot County holds about 11.1% of Maine's population but accounts for roughly 9.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Penobscot County would save about 60 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,874 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)
Penobscot County
18.1 min
36.3 min
151 hrs/yr
$4,685
687
Maine
20.8 min
41.6 min
173 hrs/yr
$5,372
1,015
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
18.1
minutes to get to work in
Penobscot County.
That's 19% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 5 fastest counties in Maine
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 11.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Penobscot County
Car:
82.9%
Worked at Home:
11.3%
Walked:
3.7%
Other:
1.0%
Bicycle:
0.4%
Public Transportation:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Penobscot County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Penobscot 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
Other
Public Transportation
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
89.3%
3.6%
4.3%
1.2%
1.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
2010
89.7%
3.5%
4.3%
0.9%
1.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
2011
89.7%
3.7%
4.3%
0.9%
0.7%
0.4%
0.2%
0.2%
2012
89.3%
3.9%
4.2%
1.0%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
2013
90.0%
3.7%
3.8%
0.8%
0.5%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
2014
89.9%
3.8%
3.9%
0.8%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
2015
89.6%
4.1%
3.9%
1.0%
0.6%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%
2016
90.2%
4.0%
3.6%
1.2%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
2017
90.5%
4.1%
3.4%
0.9%
0.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2018
90.0%
4.2%
3.7%
0.9%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
2019
89.7%
4.6%
3.8%
1.0%
0.4%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
2020
88.3%
6.3%
3.5%
0.9%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
2021
86.0%
8.4%
3.7%
0.9%
0.3%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
2022
84.6%
9.4%
3.4%
1.3%
0.4%
0.5%
0.2%
0.2%
2023
83.7%
10.6%
3.6%
1.1%
0.5%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
82.9%
11.3%
3.7%
1.0%
0.4%
0.4%
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 2017 at 90.5%. Overall it fell from 89.3% in 2009 to 82.9% in 2024, down 6.4 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Penobscot County: its share of workers rose from 3.6% in 2009 to 11.3% in 2024, up 7.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.0% to 0.4% of workers (down 0.6 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2015 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Penobscot County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Penobscot County?
The bars show when commuters in Penobscot 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 Maine for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMPenobscot County6.3%Maine6.3%
6.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMPenobscot County4.8%Maine4.1%
4.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMPenobscot County5.2%Maine5.7%
5.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMPenobscot County9.2%Maine9.3%
9.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMPenobscot County10.6%Maine11.4%
10.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMPenobscot County18.0%Maine15.8%
18.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMPenobscot County12.4%Maine12.8%
12.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMPenobscot County8.8%Maine9.9%
8.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMPenobscot County4.4%Maine4.7%
4.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMPenobscot County5.0%Maine5.3%
5.0%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMPenobscot County2.1%Maine2.4%
2.1%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMPenobscot County1.4%Maine1.4%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMPenobscot County6.6%Maine6.3%
6.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMPenobscot County5.3%Maine4.6%
5.3%
Penobscot CountyMaineSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Penobscot County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 18.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.8% across Maine. Early starts are about as common as in Maine: 16.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 16.0% there. The morning rush looks much like Maine's: 49.8% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.9% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (20.3%) 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 Penobscot 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 Penobscot 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 Penobscot County next to Maine 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
Penobscot County
Maine
United States
2009
7:29 AM
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:30 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:29 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:30 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:31 AM
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:30 AM
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:30 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:30 AM
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:28 AM
7:25 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:27 AM
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:25 AM
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:22 AM
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:23 AM
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:24 AM
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:24 AM
7:25 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:23 AM
7:25 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Penobscot County were on the road by 7:23 AM, 6 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:29 AM). The shift is sharper than across Maine, where the typical start moved 1 minute earlier. Commuters in Penobscot County now leave 15 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Penobscot County's commute time compare?
Metric
Penobscot County
Maine
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.1 min
20.8 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
11.3%
15.9%
15.0%
Walked
3.7%
3.4%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
0.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Penobscot County is 18.1 minutes, shorter than the 20.8 minutes in Maine.
0.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.5% in Maine. 3.7% commute by walking, higher than the 3.4% in Maine.
Penobscot County, ME Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Penobscot County, ME is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 154,700 residents against a local median of 40,192. Penobscot County, ME 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 counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is one-way commute, 8% above the local median at 18.1 min against 16.9 min. Penobscot County, ME has the 4th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Penobscot County, Maine.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Penobscot County, Maine?
Commuters here spend an estimated 151 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,685 at a typical national wage. That's 13% less than the typical Maine commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Penobscot County, Maine?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Penobscot County, Maine. 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.
How do commute times compare across counties in Maine?
Among counties in Maine, the shortest average commutes are in Aroostook County (13.5 min), Piscataquis County (16.3 min), Knox County (16.6 min). The longest are in York County (23.9 min), Oxford County (23.4 min), Somerset County (22.5 min).