Commuting in Fergus County, Montana: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 2:58 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Fergus County?
Map AI9/24/26, 2:58 PM
Commute Time Burden in Fergus County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Fergus County spend about 22 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 91 hours, about 3.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 32% less time on the road than the Montana average of 16.0 minutes each way, a difference of 5.2 minutes.
Fergus County holds about 1.0% of Montana's population but accounts for roughly 0.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Fergus County would save about 36 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,124 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)
Fergus County
10.9 min
21.7 min
91 hrs/yr
$2,809
143
Montana
16.0 min
32.1 min
134 hrs/yr
$4,143
403
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
10.9
minutes to get to work in
Fergus County.
That's 51% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 80% of counties in Montana
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 16.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Fergus County
Car:
71.0%
Worked at Home:
16.8%
Walked:
10.2%
Other:
1.1%
Public Transportation:
0.5%
Bicycle:
0.2%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Fergus County, versus 0.1% in Montana.
Biking is unusually rare in Fergus County: 4.3 times less than the Montana average (0.2% vs 1.0%).
Commute Mode Trends in Fergus County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Fergus 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
85.5%
6.4%
7.4%
0.5%
0.0%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2010
86.0%
6.2%
6.3%
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2011
86.7%
6.1%
5.0%
1.5%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2012
85.5%
6.7%
5.8%
0.7%
0.8%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2013
83.4%
7.8%
6.2%
0.7%
0.8%
0.2%
1.0%
0.1%
2014
83.1%
5.4%
8.4%
1.4%
0.8%
0.2%
0.6%
0.1%
2015
80.5%
7.6%
8.8%
1.1%
0.7%
0.2%
0.6%
0.5%
2016
76.6%
9.1%
11.1%
1.2%
0.5%
0.2%
0.9%
0.4%
2017
77.9%
8.7%
10.3%
1.3%
0.1%
0.2%
1.0%
0.5%
2018
79.0%
8.2%
10.3%
1.1%
0.0%
0.9%
0.0%
0.5%
2019
77.4%
10.5%
9.0%
0.2%
0.5%
1.5%
0.0%
0.8%
2020
73.1%
13.9%
10.3%
0.7%
0.5%
1.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
73.7%
15.2%
8.3%
0.9%
0.3%
1.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
71.7%
17.2%
7.8%
1.1%
0.5%
1.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
71.4%
16.2%
9.2%
1.4%
0.8%
0.9%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
71.0%
16.8%
10.2%
1.1%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2011 at 86.7%. Overall it fell from 85.5% in 2009 to 71.0% in 2024, down 14.5 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 3 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Fergus County: its share of workers rose from 6.4% in 2009 to 16.8% in 2024, up 10.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2019 release and has stayed ahead since.
Biking peaked at 1.7% in 2021 and has since fallen back to 0.2%.
Commute Start Times in Fergus County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Fergus County?
The bars show when commuters in Fergus 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 Montana for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMFergus County4.4%Montana4.0%
4.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMFergus County3.2%Montana2.7%
3.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMFergus County3.0%Montana4.0%
3.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMFergus County8.8%Montana6.7%
8.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMFergus County11.2%Montana10.3%
11.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMFergus County16.7%Montana13.7%
16.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMFergus County20.1%Montana19.2%
20.1%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMFergus County10.5%Montana11.7%
10.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMFergus County2.8%Montana5.7%
2.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMFergus County4.4%Montana6.3%
4.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMFergus County1.4%Montana3.3%
1.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMFergus County0.6%Montana1.5%
0.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMFergus County9.5%Montana5.7%
9.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMFergus County3.4%Montana5.2%
3.4%
Fergus CountyMontanaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Fergus County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 20.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 19.2% across Montana. Early starts are about as common as in Montana: 10.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.7% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Montana: 58.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 55.0% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.4%) 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 Fergus 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 Fergus 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 Fergus County next to Montana 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
Fergus County
Montana
United States
2009
7:45 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:46 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:47 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:47 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:47 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:43 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:47 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:47 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:49 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:44 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:45 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:42 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:41 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:27 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:35 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:34 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Fergus County were on the road by 7:34 AM, 11 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:45 AM). The shift is sharper than across Montana, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Fergus County now leave 4 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 Fergus County has moved 10 minutes earlier.
How does Fergus County's commute time compare?
Metric
Fergus County
Montana
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
10.9 min
16.0 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
16.8%
12.5%
15.0%
Walked
10.2%
3.9%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.5%
0.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Fergus County is 10.9 minutes, shorter than the 16.0 minutes in Montana.
0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Montana. 10.2% commute by walking, higher than the 3.9% in Montana.
Fergus County, MT Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Fergus County, MT is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 11,687 residents against a local median of 2,056. The measure that sets Fergus County, MT apart most is work from home: 16.8%, 26% below the local median of 22.8%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 10.9 min against a local median of 13.5 min, 19% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 19% below the local median it puts Fergus County, MT at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 13.8% on work from home, so Fergus County, MT sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Fergus County, MT has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Fergus County, Montana.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Fergus County, Montana?
Commuters here spend an estimated 91 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,809 at a typical national wage. That's 32% less than the typical Montana commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Fergus County, Montana?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Fergus County, Montana. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Is Fergus County, Montana a good location for remote and hybrid workers?
About 16.8% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Fergus County would save about 36 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,124 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Which counties in Montana have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Montana, the shortest average commutes are in Treasure County (7.2 min), Rosebud County (8.2 min), Fallon County (8.4 min). The longest are in Broadwater County (30.3 min), Stillwater County (27.8 min), Granite County (23.3 min).