Commuting in Ingham County, Michigan: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:09 PM
Is the commute in Ingham County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:09 PM
Commute Time Burden in Ingham County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Ingham 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 149 hours, about 6.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 16% less time on the road than the Michigan average of 21.3 minutes each way, a difference of 3.4 minutes.
Ingham County holds about 2.8% of Michigan's population but accounts for roughly 2.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Ingham County would save about 60 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,848 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)
Ingham County
17.9 min
35.8 min
149 hrs/yr
$4,619
1,737
Michigan
21.3 min
42.6 min
178 hrs/yr
$5,509
1,585
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
17.9
minutes to get to work in
Ingham County.
That's 20% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 17.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Ingham County
Car:
74.1%
Worked at Home:
17.3%
Walked:
4.1%
Public Transportation:
2.4%
Bicycle:
1.3%unusually high
Other:
0.7%
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Biking is unusually common in Ingham County: 3.8 times more than the Michigan average (1.3% vs 0.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in Ingham County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Ingham 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
Bicycle
Other
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
86.1%
3.1%
5.8%
3.1%
1.1%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
2010
85.1%
3.2%
6.2%
3.4%
1.4%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2011
84.7%
3.6%
6.1%
3.2%
1.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
2012
84.6%
3.8%
5.8%
3.2%
1.9%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
2013
85.0%
3.9%
5.6%
3.0%
1.9%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2014
84.9%
4.0%
5.5%
3.2%
2.0%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2015
85.2%
3.9%
5.4%
3.2%
1.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2016
85.4%
3.9%
5.1%
3.3%
1.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2017
85.6%
3.7%
4.8%
3.6%
1.8%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
2018
85.5%
3.7%
4.8%
3.6%
1.8%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
85.6%
3.7%
4.7%
3.6%
1.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
2020
83.2%
6.7%
4.4%
3.3%
1.6%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
79.8%
10.4%
4.5%
3.2%
1.3%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
2022
77.9%
12.8%
4.4%
2.7%
1.1%
0.8%
0.2%
0.1%
2023
75.8%
15.1%
4.4%
2.5%
1.0%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
74.1%
17.3%
4.1%
2.4%
1.3%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 86.1% in 2009 to 74.1% in 2024, down 12.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Ingham County: its share of workers rose from 3.1% in 2009 to 17.3% in 2024, up 14.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 13.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 5.8% to 4.1% of workers (down 1.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Ingham County
🦉Night OwlThe 2nd-latest start among Michigan's 83 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 8:02 AM.
😴Sleeping InThe 3rd-highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Michigan's 83 counties: 31.4% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Ingham County?
The bars show when commuters in Ingham 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 Michigan for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMIngham County4.2%Michigan5.3%
4.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMIngham County2.8%Michigan3.9%
2.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMIngham County3.7%Michigan5.1%
3.7%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMIngham County5.8%Michigan8.0%
5.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMIngham County8.1%Michigan9.0%
8.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMIngham County11.4%Michigan13.0%
11.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMIngham County13.4%Michigan12.1%
13.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMIngham County11.8%Michigan10.9%
11.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMIngham County7.4%Michigan5.6%
7.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMIngham County7.9%Michigan6.7%
7.9%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMIngham County3.6%Michigan3.2%
3.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMIngham County2.4%Michigan1.6%
2.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMIngham County9.5%Michigan8.5%
9.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMIngham County8.0%Michigan7.1%
8.0%
Ingham CountyMichiganSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Ingham County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 13.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.1% across Michigan. Early starts are less common than in Michigan: 10.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.3% there. The morning rush looks much like Michigan's: 44.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 45.0% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (31.4%) 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 Ingham 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 Ingham 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 Ingham County next to Michigan 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
Ingham County
Michigan
United States
2009
7:58 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:59 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:58 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:59 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2013
8:00 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2014
8:02 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
8:01 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2016
8:02 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
8:00 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:59 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:58 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:58 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:57 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:58 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:58 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2024
8:02 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Ingham County were on the road by 8:02 AM, 3 minutes later than in 2009 (7:58 AM). Across Michigan, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Ingham County now leave 24 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Ingham County has moved 4 minutes later.
How does Ingham County's commute time compare?
Metric
Ingham County
Michigan
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.9 min
21.3 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
17.3%
13.5%
15.0%
Walked
4.1%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
2.4%
0.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Ingham County is 17.9 minutes, shorter than the 21.3 minutes in Michigan.
2.4% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.9% in Michigan. 4.1% commute by walking, higher than the 2.0% in Michigan.
Ingham County, MI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Ingham County, MI is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 283,163 residents against a local median of 109,130. Ingham County, MI's one-way commute, at 17.9 min, runs 16% below the 21.3 min typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 10.8 min on one-way commute, so Ingham County, MI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Ingham County, MI has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Ingham County, Michigan.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Ingham County, Michigan?
Commuters here spend an estimated 149 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,619 at a typical national wage. That's 16% less than the typical Michigan commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Ingham County, Michigan?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Ingham County, Michigan. 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.
How do commute times compare across counties in Michigan?
Among counties in Michigan, the shortest average commutes are in Luce County (11.4 min), Dickinson County (12.2 min), Schoolcraft County (12.5 min). The longest are in Lapeer County (31.3 min), Lake County (31.1 min), Livingston County (28.6 min).