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Powell County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Powell County, Montana: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 3:01 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Powell County?
Map AI 9/24/26, 3:01 PM

Commute Time Burden in Powell County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Powell County spend about 24 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 101 hours, about 4.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 24% less time on the road than the Montana average of 16.0 minutes each way, a difference of 3.9 minutes.

Powell County holds about 0.6% of Montana's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Powell County would save about 40 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,253 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)
Powell County 12.1 min 24.2 min 101 hrs/yr $3,131 212
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

Fastest commutes among counties in Montana
  1. Treasure County (7.2 min)
  2. Rosebud County (8.2 min)
  3. Fallon County (8.4 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in Montana
  1. Broadwater County (30.3 min)
  2. Stillwater County (27.8 min)
  3. Granite County (23.3 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Powell County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 12.1 minutes to get to work in Powell County. That's 46% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 9.4% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Powell County

  • Car: 85.9%
  • Worked at Home: 9.4%
  • Walked: 3.1%
  • Other: 1.1%
  • Public Transportation: 0.5%
  • Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low

Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 0.1% in Montana.

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 0.1% in Montana.

Biking is essentially absent in Powell County, versus 1.0% in Montana.

Commute Mode Trends in Powell County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Powell 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 Taxi Motorcycle Bicycle
2009 86.5% 3.8% 5.3% 1.1% 1.4% 0.0% 0.6% 1.2%
2010 85.0% 4.9% 6.0% 1.9% 1.2% 0.0% 0.6% 0.3%
2011 83.6% 6.3% 6.9% 1.3% 1.3% 0.0% 0.3% 0.3%
2012 84.3% 8.6% 5.7% 0.7% 0.3% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0%
2013 83.7% 10.1% 5.0% 0.8% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2014 82.3% 11.3% 5.4% 0.9% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2015 81.8% 10.9% 6.0% 1.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2016 77.4% 14.6% 7.0% 0.9% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2017 78.6% 14.3% 6.5% 0.6% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2018 77.1% 15.1% 7.1% 0.6% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2019 77.8% 14.6% 7.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2020 79.5% 14.4% 5.8% 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2021 83.3% 9.2% 7.2% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2022 85.7% 8.0% 5.5% 0.5% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 86.9% 7.5% 4.3% 1.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 85.9% 9.4% 3.1% 1.1% 0.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2023 at 86.9% and lowest in 2018 at 77.1%. Overall it fell from 86.5% in 2009 to 85.9% in 2024, down 0.6 percentage points. It has fallen in the latest release.

Working from home gained the most ground in Powell County: its share of workers rose from 3.8% in 2009 to 9.4% in 2024, up 5.6 percentage points.

Walking lost the most ground, falling from 5.3% to 3.1% of workers (down 2.2 percentage points).

Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2012 release and has stayed ahead since.

Working from home peaked at 15.1% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 9.4%.

Commute Start Times in Powell County

  • Hitting SnoozeThe biggest shift to later mornings among Montana's 56 counties: the typical start is 30 minutes later than in 2009.
  • Sleeping InThe 2nd-highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Montana's 56 counties: 27.4% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
  • Night OwlThe 3rd-latest start among Montana's 56 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:53 AM.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Powell County?

The bars show when commuters in Powell 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
4.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
8.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
3.7%
6:00-6:29 AM
5.0%
6:30-6:59 AM
8.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
10.5%
7:30-7:59 AM
13.3%
8:00-8:29 AM
17.7%
8:30-8:59 AM
1.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
4.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
0.9%
11:00-11:59 AM
2.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
7.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
11.6%

Powell County Montana Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Powell County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 17.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.7% across Montana. Early starts are more common than in Montana: 16.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Montana: 49.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 55.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (27.4%) 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 Powell 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 Powell 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 Powell 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 Powell County Montana United States
2009 7:23 AM 7:45 AM 7:37 AM
2010 7:25 AM 7:45 AM 7:38 AM
2011 7:24 AM 7:45 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:25 AM 7:45 AM 7:38 AM
2013 7:32 AM 7:45 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:37 AM 7:45 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:33 AM 7:44 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:35 AM 7:44 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:35 AM 7:44 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:37 AM 7:44 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:38 AM 7:44 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:40 AM 7:45 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:44 AM 7:45 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:46 AM 7:44 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:51 AM 7:43 AM 7:38 AM
2024 7:53 AM 7:43 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Powell County were on the road by 7:53 AM, 30 minutes later than in 2009 (7:23 AM). That goes against the trend across Montana, where the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Powell County now leave 15 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 Powell County has moved 15 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Powell County in the whole series.

How does Powell County's commute time compare?

Metric Powell County Montana US Average
Avg. Commute Time 12.1 min 16.0 min 22.4 min
Departure Window 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 9.4% 12.5% 15.0%
Walked 3.1% 3.9% 2.4%
Public Transit 0.5% 0.6% 3.2%

The average commute time in Powell County is 12.1 minutes, shorter than the 16.0 minutes in Montana.

0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in Montana. 3.1% commute by walking, lower than the 3.9% in Montana.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Powell County, MT Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Powell County, MT is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 7,053 residents against a local median of 35,793. Where Powell County, MT breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 25% below the local median of 16.1 min at 12.1 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.

The counties themselves spread 10.3 min on one-way commute, so Powell County, MT sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Powell County, MT has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Powell County, MT 7,053 12.1 min #1/6 9.4% #4/6 7:53 AM #5/6
Lewis and Clark County, MT 73,430 16.2 min 14.5% 7:46 AM
Granite County, MT 3,462 23.3 min 9.9% 7:22 AM
Deer Lodge County, MT 9,595 15.1 min 8.1% 7:38 AM
Silver Bow County, MT 35,793 13.0 min 7.6% 7:51 AM
Missoula County, MT 120,671 16.1 min 14.6% 7:57 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Powell County, Montana.

How much does the average commute cost workers in Powell County, Montana?

Commuters here spend an estimated 101 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,131 at a typical national wage. That's 24% less than the typical Montana commuter spends.

When is rush hour worst in Powell County, Montana?

Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Powell County, Montana. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:30 AM – 07:59 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).