Hertford County Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Hertford County, North Carolina: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Hertford County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Hertford County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 174 hours, about 7.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 4% less time on the road than the North Carolina average of 21.9 minutes each way, a difference of 0.9 minutes.
Hertford County holds about 0.2% of North Carolina's population and accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Hertford County would save about 70 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,161 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hertford County | 20.9 min | 41.8 min | 174 hrs/yr | $5,402 | 539 |
| 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.
Commute Time Map: North Carolina Counties
- Macon County (17.2 min)
- Watauga County (17.2 min)
- Dare County (17.4 min)
- Gates County (35.9 min)
- Currituck County (33.9 min)
- Tyrrell County (33.6 min)
Compare commute times among different counties
On average, it takes 20.9 minutes to get to work in Hertford County. That's 7% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 4.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Hertford County
- Car: 90.4%
- Worked at Home: 4.3% unusually low
- Other: 2.2%
- Walked: 1.8%
- Public Transportation: 1.2%
- Bicycle: 0.2%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
- Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Hertford County, versus 0.1% in North Carolina.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Hertford County, versus 0.2% in North Carolina.
Working from home is unusually rare in Hertford County: 3.8 times less than the North Carolina average (4.3% vs 16.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in Hertford County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Hertford 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 | Other | Walked | Public Transportation | Bicycle | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 96.3% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2010 | 96.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2011 | 94.8% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2012 | 95.7% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.9% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2013 | 95.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2.1% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 93.8% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 2.6% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 94.3% | 1.4% | 0.6% | 2.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 93.5% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 3.5% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 93.7% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 3.4% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 92.8% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 3.7% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 92.9% | 1.8% | 1.1% | 3.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 92.7% | 2.0% | 1.4% | 2.8% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 92.2% | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 0.5% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 89.7% | 3.5% | 3.0% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 89.6% | 4.6% | 2.8% | 1.9% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 90.4% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share bottomed out in 2023 at 89.6%. Overall it fell from 96.3% in 2009 to 90.4% in 2024, down 5.9 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Hertford County: its share of workers rose from 0.8% in 2009 to 4.3% in 2024, up 3.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.5 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 2022 release and has stayed ahead since.
Walking peaked at 3.7% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 1.8%.
Commute Start Times in Hertford County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Hertford County?
The bars show when commuters in Hertford 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 AM
Hertford County11.2%
North Carolina4.4%
|
11.2% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Hertford County2.6%
North Carolina3.5%
|
2.6% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Hertford County5.2%
North Carolina4.6%
|
5.2% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Hertford County9.0%
North Carolina9.0%
|
9.0% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Hertford County13.1%
North Carolina10.2%
|
13.1% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Hertford County15.8%
North Carolina15.3%
|
15.8% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Hertford County10.3%
North Carolina12.8%
|
10.3% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Hertford County7.5%
North Carolina11.7%
|
7.5% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Hertford County3.2%
North Carolina5.4%
|
3.2% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Hertford County6.6%
North Carolina6.4%
|
6.6% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Hertford County2.1%
North Carolina2.8%
|
2.1% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Hertford County0.6%
North Carolina1.4%
|
0.6% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Hertford County6.5%
North Carolina6.3%
|
6.5% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Hertford County6.4%
North Carolina6.4%
|
6.4% |
Hertford County North Carolina Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Hertford County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across North Carolina. Early starts are more common than in North Carolina: 18.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in North Carolina: 46.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (22.3%) 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 Hertford 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 Hertford 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 Hertford 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Hertford County | North Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:37 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:38 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:36 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:40 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:40 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:29 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:29 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:31 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:32 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:21 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:17 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Hertford County were on the road by 7:17 AM, 20 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:37 AM). That goes against the trend across North Carolina, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Hertford County now leave 21 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 Hertford County has moved 8 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Hertford County in the whole series.
How does Hertford County's commute time compare?
| Metric | Hertford County | North Carolina | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 20.9 min | 21.9 min | 22.4 min |
| Departure Window | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM |
| Secondary Departure Window | 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 4.3% | 16.3% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.2% | 0.7% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Hertford County is 20.9 minutes, shorter than the 21.9 minutes in North Carolina.
1.2% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.7% in North Carolina. 1.8% commute by walking, higher than the 1.6% in North Carolina.
Hertford County, NC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Hertford County, NC is the largest of the 5 counties compared here, 19,906 residents against a local median of 17,049. Hertford County, NC's one-way commute, at 20.9 min, runs 18% below the 25.5 min typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 14.2 min on one-way commute, so Hertford County, NC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Hertford County, NC has the lowest one-way commute of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hertford County, NC | 19,906 | 20.9 min #1/5 | 4.3% #4/5 | 7:17 AM #3/5 |
| Gates County, NC | 10,369 | 35.9 min | 4.5% | 6:46 AM |
| Bertie County, NC | 17,166 | 21.7 min | 4.3% | 7:40 AM |
| Southampton County, VA | 17,965 | 27.5 min | 5.4% | 7:11 AM |
| Northampton County, NC | 16,931 | 23.5 min | 5.9% | 7:21 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Hertford County, North Carolina.
Is living in Hertford County, North Carolina good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 174 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,402 at a typical national wage. That's 4% less than the typical North Carolina commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Hertford County, North Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Hertford County, North Carolina. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
How do commute times compare across 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).