Commuting in Graham County, North Carolina: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:12 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Graham County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:12 PM
Commute Time Burden in Graham County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Graham County spend about 35 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 148 hours, about 6.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 19% less time on the road than the North Carolina average of 21.9 minutes each way, a difference of 4.1 minutes.
Graham County holds about 0.1% of North Carolina's population and accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Graham County would save about 59 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,832 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)
Graham County
17.7 min
35.5 min
148 hrs/yr
$4,581
279
North Carolina
21.9 min
43.7 min
182 hrs/yr
$5,645
1,609
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
17.7
minutes to get to work in
Graham County.
That's 21% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 95% of counties in North Carolina
The most common departure window is 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by other means. About 2.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Graham County
Car:
93.4%
Other:
3.1%
Worked at Home:
2.2%unusually low
Walked:
1.3%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Graham County, versus 0.1% in North Carolina.
Public transit is unusually rare in Graham County: 354371.0 times less than the North Carolina average (0.0% vs 0.7%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Graham County, versus 0.2% in North Carolina.
Working from home is unusually rare in Graham County: 7.5 times less than the North Carolina average (2.2% vs 16.3%).
Biking is essentially absent in Graham County, versus 0.2% in North Carolina.
Commute Mode Trends in Graham County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Graham 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
Other
Worked at Home
Walked
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
Bicycle
2009
94.4%
0.0%
1.5%
4.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
94.9%
0.0%
1.7%
3.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
96.0%
0.0%
2.2%
1.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
95.1%
0.0%
2.7%
2.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
95.9%
0.0%
2.8%
1.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
93.5%
0.0%
4.7%
1.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2015
93.5%
0.0%
4.5%
1.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
93.3%
0.0%
3.9%
2.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
94.6%
0.6%
3.7%
1.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
90.8%
1.5%
5.4%
2.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
94.6%
1.3%
2.9%
1.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
94.1%
1.3%
3.8%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
93.6%
1.5%
2.7%
2.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
94.2%
1.5%
2.3%
1.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
94.7%
2.6%
1.3%
1.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
93.4%
3.1%
2.2%
1.3%
0.0%
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 2011 at 96.0% and lowest in 2018 at 90.8%. Overall it fell from 94.4% in 2009 to 93.4% in 2024, down 1.0 percentage points. It has fallen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Graham County: its share of workers rose from 1.5% in 2009 to 2.2% in 2024, up 0.7 percentage points.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 4.1% to 1.3% of workers (down 2.8 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 3rd most common choice in the 2024 release and has stayed ahead since.
Working from home peaked at 5.4% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 2.2%.
Commute Start Times in Graham County
⏰Earlier AlarmsThe 3rd-biggest shift to earlier mornings among North Carolina's 100 counties: the typical start is 24 minutes earlier than in 2009.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Graham County?
The bars show when commuters in Graham 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 North Carolina for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMGraham County5.3%North Carolina4.4%
5.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMGraham County4.5%North Carolina3.5%
4.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMGraham County7.5%North Carolina4.6%
7.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMGraham County17.1%North Carolina9.0%
17.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMGraham County10.1%North Carolina10.2%
10.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMGraham County16.0%North Carolina15.3%
16.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMGraham County7.8%North Carolina12.8%
7.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMGraham County9.5%North Carolina11.7%
9.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMGraham County5.4%North Carolina5.4%
5.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMGraham County7.2%North Carolina6.4%
7.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMGraham County3.1%North Carolina2.8%
3.1%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMGraham County1.4%North Carolina1.4%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMGraham County2.9%North Carolina6.3%
2.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMGraham County2.1%North Carolina6.4%
2.1%
Graham CountyNorth CarolinaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Graham County is 6:00-6:29 AM, when 17.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 9.0% across North Carolina. Early starts are more common than in North Carolina: 17.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in North Carolina: 43.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.0% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (16.8%) 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 Graham 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 Graham 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 Graham County next to North Carolina 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
Graham County
North Carolina
United States
2009
7:34 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:26 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:22 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:18 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:14 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:11 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:12 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:18 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:19 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:29 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:22 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:10 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Graham County were on the road by 7:10 AM, 24 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:34 AM). That goes against the trend across North Carolina, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Graham County now leave 28 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 Graham County has moved 23 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Graham County in the whole series.
How does Graham County's commute time compare?
Metric
Graham County
North Carolina
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.7 min
21.9 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
06:00 AM – 06:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
2.2%
16.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.3%
1.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Graham County is 17.7 minutes, shorter than the 21.9 minutes in North Carolina.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.7% in North Carolina. 1.3% commute by walking, lower than the 1.6% in North Carolina.
Graham County, NC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Graham County, NC is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 8,067 residents against a local median of 29,563. Where Graham County, NC breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 73% below the local median of 8.1% at 2.2%.
The counties themselves spread 6.3% on work from home, so Graham County, NC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Graham County, NC has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Graham County, North Carolina.
Is living in Graham County, North Carolina good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 148 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,581 at a typical national wage. That's 19% less than the typical North Carolina commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Graham County, North Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM in Graham County, North Carolina. 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.
Do people use public transit in Graham County, North Carolina?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.7% in North Carolina, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in North Carolina?
Among counties in North Carolina, the shortest average commutes are in Macon County (17.2 min), Watauga County (17.2 min), Dare County (17.4 min). The longest are in Gates County (35.9 min), Currituck County (33.9 min), Tyrrell County (33.6 min).