Commuting in Lincoln 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, 7:10 PM
How much time do drivers in Lincoln County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 7:10 PM
Commute Time Burden in Lincoln County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Lincoln 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 93 hours, about 3.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 30% less time on the road than the Montana average of 16.0 minutes each way, a difference of 4.8 minutes.
Lincoln County holds about 1.9% of Montana's population but accounts for roughly 1.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Lincoln County would save about 37 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,157 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)
Lincoln County
11.2 min
22.4 min
93 hrs/yr
$2,893
427
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
11.2
minutes to get to work in
Lincoln County.
That's 50% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 75% 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 15.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Lincoln County
Car:
76.5%
Worked at Home:
15.5%
Walked:
3.7%
Other:
2.9%
Bicycle:
0.9%
Taxi:
0.5%unusually high
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Lincoln County, versus 0.1% in Montana.
Public transit is unusually rare in Lincoln County: 46.1 times less than the Montana average (0.0% vs 0.6%).
Taking a taxi is unusually common in Lincoln County: 9.7 times more than the Montana average (0.5% vs 0.1%).
Commute Mode Trends in Lincoln County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Lincoln 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
Taxi
Public Transportation
Motorcycle
2009
85.3%
6.1%
5.5%
1.2%
1.7%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2010
84.3%
7.4%
5.6%
1.5%
1.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2011
84.4%
7.5%
5.1%
1.2%
0.9%
0.0%
1.0%
0.0%
2012
85.3%
6.8%
4.4%
1.4%
1.1%
0.0%
1.1%
0.0%
2013
87.9%
5.1%
4.9%
0.7%
0.5%
0.0%
0.7%
0.1%
2014
88.3%
5.5%
3.9%
1.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.8%
0.1%
2015
88.7%
4.5%
3.6%
1.2%
0.8%
0.0%
1.0%
0.1%
2016
88.0%
3.8%
4.5%
2.1%
0.9%
0.0%
0.5%
0.1%
2017
88.5%
3.6%
5.0%
1.7%
0.8%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
2018
86.4%
4.6%
5.7%
2.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
85.1%
5.7%
5.4%
1.7%
1.3%
0.0%
0.7%
0.0%
2020
84.1%
6.8%
4.7%
2.2%
1.2%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
81.8%
11.2%
3.4%
1.4%
1.0%
0.8%
0.4%
0.0%
2022
80.9%
12.5%
3.4%
1.4%
1.0%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
76.9%
15.6%
3.8%
1.8%
1.2%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
76.5%
15.5%
3.7%
2.9%
0.9%
0.5%
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 88.7%. Overall it fell from 85.3% in 2009 to 76.5% in 2024, down 8.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Lincoln County: its share of workers rose from 6.1% in 2009 to 15.5% in 2024, up 9.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 5.5% to 3.7% of workers (down 1.8 percentage points).
Taking a taxi overtook public transit to become the 6th most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Lincoln County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Lincoln County?
The bars show when commuters in Lincoln 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 AMLincoln County9.4%Montana4.0%
9.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMLincoln County3.4%Montana2.7%
3.4%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMLincoln County4.9%Montana4.0%
4.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMLincoln County11.6%Montana6.7%
11.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMLincoln County7.5%Montana10.3%
7.5%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMLincoln County12.3%Montana13.7%
12.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMLincoln County18.5%Montana19.2%
18.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMLincoln County10.1%Montana11.7%
10.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMLincoln County4.8%Montana5.7%
4.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMLincoln County8.4%Montana6.3%
8.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMLincoln County3.5%Montana3.3%
3.5%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMLincoln County1.2%Montana1.5%
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMLincoln County3.3%Montana5.7%
3.3%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMLincoln County1.2%Montana5.2%
1.2%
Lincoln CountyMontanaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Lincoln County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 19.2% across Montana. Early starts are more common than in Montana: 17.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Montana: 48.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 55.0% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (17.6%) 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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
Lincoln County
Montana
United States
2009
7:43 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:43 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:47 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:49 AM
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:49 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:44 AM
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:45 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:45 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:42 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:44 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:42 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:40 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:38 AM
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:36 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:31 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:32 AM
7:43 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Lincoln County were on the road by 7:32 AM, 12 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:43 AM). The shift is sharper than across Montana, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Lincoln County now leave 6 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 Lincoln County has moved 10 minutes earlier.
How does Lincoln County's commute time compare?
Metric
Lincoln County
Montana
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
11.2 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
15.5%
12.5%
15.0%
Walked
3.7%
3.9%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Lincoln County is 11.2 minutes, shorter than the 16.0 minutes in Montana.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Montana. 3.7% commute by walking, lower than the 3.9% in Montana.
Lincoln County, MT Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Lincoln County, MT is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 21,175 residents against a local median of 13,782. Lincoln County, MT's one-way commute, at 11.2 min, runs 30% below the 16.0 min typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 15.5% against a local median of 12.0%, 29% above it. The counties themselves spread 5.0 min on one-way commute, so Lincoln County, MT sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Lincoln County, MT has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Lincoln County, Montana.
Is commuting expensive in Lincoln County, Montana?
Commuters here spend an estimated 93 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,893 at a typical national wage. That's 30% less than the typical Montana commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Lincoln County, Montana?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Lincoln 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.
How common is public transit use in Lincoln County, Montana?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.6% in Montana, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
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).