Commuting in Lee 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, 8:19 PM
How much time do drivers in Lee County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:19 PM
Commute Time Burden in Lee County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Lee 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 175 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.
Lee County holds about 0.6% of North Carolina's population and accounts for roughly 0.6% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Lee County would save about 70 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,165 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)
Lee County
21.0 min
41.9 min
175 hrs/yr
$5,413
1,125
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
21.0
minutes to get to work in
Lee 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 6.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Lee County
Car:
89.8%
Worked at Home:
6.7%
Walked:
2.1%
Other:
0.8%
Taxi:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Public Transportation:
0.1%unusually low
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Lee County: 4.3 times less than the North Carolina average (0.1% vs 0.7%).
Biking is essentially absent in Lee County, versus 0.2% in North Carolina.
Commute Mode Trends in Lee County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Lee 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
Taxi
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Bicycle
2009
94.9%
2.3%
0.8%
1.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
2010
94.6%
2.5%
0.8%
1.4%
0.1%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2011
94.2%
2.4%
1.0%
1.7%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2012
94.4%
2.6%
1.0%
1.5%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2013
95.1%
2.4%
0.9%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2014
94.1%
3.1%
1.2%
1.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2015
94.3%
2.9%
1.4%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2016
95.1%
3.0%
1.1%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2017
95.6%
2.7%
0.9%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2018
95.4%
2.7%
1.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
95.1%
2.9%
1.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.5%
0.0%
2020
94.7%
2.8%
0.6%
0.7%
0.4%
0.2%
0.5%
0.0%
2021
93.6%
3.9%
0.6%
0.7%
0.4%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
2022
92.6%
4.7%
1.1%
0.8%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
91.1%
5.7%
1.5%
1.0%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
2024
89.8%
6.7%
2.1%
0.8%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2017 at 95.6%. Overall it fell from 94.9% in 2009 to 89.8% in 2024, down 5.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Lee County: its share of workers rose from 2.3% in 2009 to 6.7% in 2024, up 4.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Lee County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Lee County?
The bars show when commuters in Lee 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 AMLee County5.6%North Carolina4.4%
5.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMLee County4.7%North Carolina3.5%
4.7%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMLee County7.4%North Carolina4.6%
7.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMLee County9.2%North Carolina9.0%
9.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMLee County11.7%North Carolina10.2%
11.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMLee County15.9%North Carolina15.3%
15.9%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMLee County10.4%North Carolina12.8%
10.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMLee County9.2%North Carolina11.7%
9.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMLee County3.1%North Carolina5.4%
3.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMLee County6.1%North Carolina6.4%
6.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMLee County1.9%North Carolina2.8%
1.9%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMLee County1.2%North Carolina1.4%
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMLee County6.4%North Carolina6.3%
6.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMLee County7.2%North Carolina6.4%
7.2%
Lee CountyNorth CarolinaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Lee County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across North Carolina. Early starts are more common than in North Carolina: 17.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in North Carolina: 47.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (22.8%) 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 Lee 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 Lee 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 Lee 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
Lee County
North Carolina
United States
2009
7:23 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:19 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:16 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:18 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:18 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:22 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:26 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:15 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:15 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:12 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:16 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Lee County were on the road by 7:21 AM, 2 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:23 AM). That goes against the trend across North Carolina, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Lee County now leave 16 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 Lee County has moved 6 minutes later.
How does Lee County's commute time compare?
Metric
Lee County
North Carolina
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
21.0 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
6.7%
16.3%
15.0%
Walked
2.1%
1.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.1%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Lee County is 21.0 minutes, shorter than the 21.9 minutes in North Carolina.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.7% in North Carolina. 2.1% commute by walking, higher than the 1.6% in North Carolina.
Lee County, NC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Lee County, NC is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 65,807 residents against a local median of 104,876. The measure that sets Lee County, NC apart most is work from home: 6.7%, 24% below the local median of 8.8%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 21.0 min against a local median of 26.7 min, 22% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 22% below the local median it puts Lee County, NC at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 14.8% on work from home, so Lee County, NC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Lee County, NC has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Lee County, North Carolina.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Lee County, North Carolina?
Commuters here spend an estimated 175 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,413 at a typical national wage. That's 4% less than the typical North Carolina commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Lee County, North Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Lee 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 common is public transit use in Lee County, North Carolina?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.1% of commuters use it versus 0.7% in North Carolina, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Which counties in North Carolina have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).