Commuting in Montcalm 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, 6:41 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Montcalm County?
Map AI9/24/26, 6:41 PM
Commute Time Burden in Montcalm County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Montcalm County spend about 56 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 235 hours, about 9.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 32% more time on the road than the Michigan average of 21.3 minutes each way, a difference of 6.9 minutes.
Montcalm County holds about 0.7% of Michigan's population but accounts for roughly 0.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Montcalm County would save about 94 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,917 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)
Montcalm County
28.2 min
56.5 min
235 hrs/yr
$7,292
1,238
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
28.2
minutes to get to work in
Montcalm County.
That's 26% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the 5 slowest counties in Michigan
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 6.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Montcalm County
Car:
90.3%
Worked at Home:
6.9%
Walked:
1.4%
Other:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Montcalm County: 45.3 times less than the Michigan average (0.0% vs 0.9%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Montcalm County, versus 0.1% in Michigan.
Commute Mode Trends in Montcalm County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Montcalm 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
Bicycle
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
2009
92.3%
3.7%
2.3%
1.1%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2010
92.8%
3.6%
2.0%
1.1%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2011
92.3%
4.0%
1.9%
1.3%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2012
92.2%
3.8%
2.0%
1.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2013
92.5%
3.7%
2.1%
1.2%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2014
92.8%
3.4%
2.0%
1.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2015
93.0%
3.0%
2.1%
1.2%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2016
92.7%
3.4%
2.1%
1.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2017
92.6%
3.9%
2.0%
0.8%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
2018
92.8%
3.9%
1.9%
0.8%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
92.5%
4.4%
2.0%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2020
92.6%
4.5%
1.8%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2021
92.6%
4.7%
1.9%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
92.0%
5.0%
1.9%
0.8%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
90.8%
6.1%
2.0%
0.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
90.3%
6.9%
1.4%
1.1%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2015 at 93.0%. Overall it fell from 92.3% in 2009 to 90.3% in 2024, down 2.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 3 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Montcalm County: its share of workers rose from 3.7% in 2009 to 6.9% in 2024, up 3.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 2.3% to 1.4% of workers (down 0.9 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Montcalm County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Montcalm County?
The bars show when commuters in Montcalm 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 AMMontcalm County8.2%Michigan5.3%
8.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMontcalm County7.8%Michigan3.9%
7.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMontcalm County8.0%Michigan5.1%
8.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMontcalm County10.9%Michigan8.0%
10.9%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMontcalm County10.1%Michigan9.0%
10.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMontcalm County13.0%Michigan13.0%
13.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMontcalm County8.6%Michigan12.1%
8.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMontcalm County7.6%Michigan10.9%
7.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMontcalm County3.3%Michigan5.6%
3.3%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMontcalm County3.2%Michigan6.7%
3.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMontcalm County2.3%Michigan3.2%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMontcalm County0.7%Michigan1.6%
0.7%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMontcalm County9.7%Michigan8.5%
9.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMontcalm County6.5%Michigan7.1%
6.5%
Montcalm CountyMichiganSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Montcalm County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.0% across Michigan. Early starts are more common than in Michigan: 24.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.3% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Michigan: 39.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 45.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (22.6%) 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 Montcalm 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 Montcalm 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 Montcalm 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
Montcalm County
Michigan
United States
2009
7:21 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:20 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:20 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:22 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:20 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:20 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:18 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:19 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:16 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:18 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:16 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:17 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:15 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:13 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:12 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:12 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Montcalm County were on the road by 7:12 AM, 9 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:21 AM). Across Michigan, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Montcalm County now leave 26 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 Montcalm County has moved 4 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Montcalm County in the whole series.
How does Montcalm County's commute time compare?
Metric
Montcalm County
Michigan
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
28.2 min
21.3 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
06:00 AM – 06:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
6.9%
13.5%
15.0%
Walked
1.4%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Montcalm County is 28.2 minutes, longer than the 21.3 minutes in Michigan.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.9% in Michigan. 1.4% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Michigan.
Montcalm County, MI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Montcalm County, MI is typical in size for this group, 67,816 residents against a local median of 64,565, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. The measure that sets Montcalm County, MI apart most is one-way commute: 28.2 min, 53% above the local median of 18.4 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 6.9% against a local median of 8.7%, 20% below it. The counties themselves spread 10.3 min on one-way commute, so Montcalm County, MI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Montcalm County, MI has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Montcalm County, Michigan.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Montcalm County, Michigan?
Commuters here spend an estimated 235 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $7,292 at a typical national wage. That's 32% more than the typical Michigan commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Montcalm County, Michigan?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Montcalm County, Michigan. 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.
How common is public transit use in Montcalm County, Michigan?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.9% in Michigan, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
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).