Missoula County Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Missoula County, Montana: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Missoula County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Missoula County spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 134 hours, about 5.6 full days, spent commuting. That is about the same time on the road as the Montana average of 16.0 minutes each way.
Missoula County holds about 10.8% of Montana's population but accounts for roughly 10.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Missoula County would save about 54 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,666 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missoula County | 16.1 min | 32.2 min | 134 hrs/yr | $4,164 | 1,202 |
| 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.
Commute Time Map: Montana Counties
- Treasure County (7.2 min)
- Rosebud County (8.2 min)
- Fallon County (8.4 min)
- Broadwater County (30.3 min)
- Stillwater County (27.8 min)
- Granite County (23.3 min)
Compare commute times among different counties
On average, it takes 16.1 minutes to get to work in Missoula County. That's 28% 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 14.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Missoula County
- Car: 77.3%
- Worked at Home: 14.6%
- Walked: 3.2%
- Bicycle: 2.8%
- Public Transportation: 1.1%
- Other: 0.7%
- Motorcycle: 0.2%
- Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Missoula County: 4.8 times less than the Montana average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Commute Mode Trends in Missoula County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Missoula 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Bicycle | Public Transportation | Other | Motorcycle | Taxi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 79.8% | 6.4% | 5.7% | 4.5% | 2.2% | 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 80.8% | 6.7% | 5.1% | 3.9% | 2.2% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 82.2% | 6.3% | 4.6% | 3.8% | 2.0% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 82.3% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 4.0% | 2.0% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 82.3% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 4.4% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 82.3% | 5.6% | 5.3% | 4.0% | 1.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 82.2% | 5.5% | 5.2% | 4.5% | 1.8% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 81.3% | 6.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 2.0% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 81.1% | 5.9% | 5.3% | 4.5% | 2.1% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2018 | 82.1% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 4.2% | 2.2% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2019 | 82.5% | 5.1% | 5.1% | 4.2% | 2.0% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2020 | 81.9% | 7.2% | 4.5% | 3.6% | 1.9% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 81.0% | 9.1% | 4.1% | 3.3% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 79.9% | 10.3% | 3.9% | 3.6% | 1.6% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 78.2% | 13.0% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 1.5% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 77.3% | 14.6% | 3.2% | 2.8% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2019 at 82.5%. Overall it fell from 79.8% in 2009 to 77.3% in 2024, down 2.5 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Missoula County: its share of workers rose from 6.4% in 2009 to 14.6% in 2024, up 8.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 5.7% to 3.2% of workers (down 2.5 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Missoula County
- 😴 Sleeping InThe highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Montana's 56 counties: 28.7% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
- 🦉 Night OwlThe 2nd-latest start among Montana's 56 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:57 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Missoula County?
The bars show when commuters in Missoula 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 AM
Missoula County3.8%
Montana4.0%
|
3.8% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Missoula County1.6%
Montana2.7%
|
1.6% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Missoula County3.6%
Montana4.0%
|
3.6% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Missoula County5.8%
Montana6.7%
|
5.8% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Missoula County8.4%
Montana10.3%
|
8.4% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Missoula County10.2%
Montana13.7%
|
10.2% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Missoula County18.7%
Montana19.2%
|
18.7% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Missoula County11.6%
Montana11.7%
|
11.6% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Missoula County7.5%
Montana5.7%
|
7.5% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Missoula County9.4%
Montana6.3%
|
9.4% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Missoula County3.0%
Montana3.3%
|
3.0% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Missoula County2.1%
Montana1.5%
|
2.1% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Missoula County7.1%
Montana5.7%
|
7.1% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Missoula County7.2%
Montana5.2%
|
7.2% |
Missoula County Montana Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Missoula County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 19.2% across Montana. Early starts are less common than in Montana: 9.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Montana: 49.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 55.0% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (28.7%) 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 Missoula 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 Missoula 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 Missoula 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Missoula County | Montana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:55 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:56 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:57 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:56 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:55 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:54 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:53 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:53 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:54 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:56 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:55 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:57 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:58 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:58 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:56 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:57 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Missoula County were on the road by 7:57 AM, 2 minutes later than in 2009 (7:55 AM). That goes against the trend across Montana, where the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Missoula County now leave 19 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Missoula County's commute time compare?
| Metric | Missoula County | Montana | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 16.1 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 | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 14.6% | 12.5% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 3.2% | 3.9% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.1% | 0.6% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Missoula County is about the same as in Montana.
1.1% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.6% in Montana. 3.2% commute by walking, lower than the 3.9% in Montana.
Missoula County, MT Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Missoula County, MT is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 120,671 residents against a local median of 7,053. Missoula County, MT's work from home, at 14.6%, runs 47% above the 9.9% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 4.7% on work from home, so Missoula County, MT sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Missoula County, MT has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missoula County, MT | 120,671 | 16.1 min #2/6 | 14.6% #1/6 | 7:57 AM #6/6 |
| Lake County, MT | 32,553 | 17.1 min | 13.2% | 7:42 AM |
| Granite County, MT | 3,462 | 23.3 min | 9.9% | 7:22 AM |
| Ravalli County, MT | 46,722 | 18.5 min | 14.2% | 7:46 AM |
| Powell County, MT | 7,053 | 12.1 min | 9.4% | 7:53 AM |
| Mineral County, MT | 4,955 | 20.5 min | 9.9% | 7:24 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Missoula County, Montana.
Is commuting expensive in Missoula County, Montana?
Commuters here spend an estimated 134 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,164 at a typical national wage.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Missoula County, Montana?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Missoula County, Montana. 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 Montana?
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).