Commuting in Montgomery County, North Carolina: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You10/21/26, 5:42 PM
How much time do drivers in Montgomery County spend on the road daily?
Map AI10/21/26, 5:42 PM
Commute Time Burden in Montgomery County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Montgomery County spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 189 hours, about 7.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 4% more time on the road than the North Carolina average of 21.9 minutes each way, a difference of 0.8 minutes.
Montgomery County holds about 0.2% of North Carolina's population but accounts for roughly 0.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Montgomery County would save about 76 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,342 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)
Montgomery County
22.7 min
45.3 min
189 hrs/yr
$5,856
535
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
22.7
minutes to get to work in
Montgomery County.
That's 1% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 5.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Montgomery County
Car:
91.7%
Worked at Home:
5.9%
Walked:
1.3%
Other:
0.9%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is essentially absent in Montgomery County, versus 0.7% in North Carolina.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Montgomery County, versus 0.2% in North Carolina.
Biking is unusually rare in Montgomery County: 4.7 times less than the North Carolina average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Commute Mode Trends in Montgomery County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Montgomery 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
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
Bicycle
2009
96.2%
1.4%
1.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
96.2%
1.5%
1.4%
0.2%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
95.8%
1.5%
1.4%
0.5%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
95.8%
1.4%
1.5%
0.5%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
94.5%
2.5%
1.6%
0.5%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
95.3%
2.4%
1.4%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2015
95.0%
2.4%
1.1%
0.8%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
95.2%
2.1%
1.2%
0.6%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2017
95.3%
2.6%
0.8%
0.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2018
97.1%
1.1%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2019
96.3%
1.5%
0.8%
1.1%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
96.7%
1.6%
1.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2021
95.8%
2.2%
1.4%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
93.6%
4.5%
1.4%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
91.8%
5.7%
1.4%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
91.7%
5.9%
1.3%
0.9%
0.2%
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 peaked in 2018 at 97.1%. Overall it fell from 96.2% in 2009 to 91.7% in 2024, down 4.5 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 4 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Montgomery County: its share of workers rose from 1.4% in 2009 to 5.9% in 2024, up 4.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 4.4 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 2013 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Montgomery County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Montgomery County?
The bars show when commuters in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery CountyNorth CarolinaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Montgomery County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 16.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across North Carolina. Early starts are more common than in North Carolina: 19.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.5% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in North Carolina: 46.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.0% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (17.5%) 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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
Montgomery County
North Carolina
United States
2009
7:18 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:22 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:19 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:28 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
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:19 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:15 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Montgomery County were on the road by 7:15 AM, 3 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:18 AM). That goes against the trend across North Carolina, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Montgomery County now leave 23 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 Montgomery County has moved 6 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Montgomery County in the whole series.
How does Montgomery County's commute time compare?
Metric
Montgomery County
North Carolina
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
22.7 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
5.9%
16.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.3%
1.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Montgomery County is 22.7 minutes, longer 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.
Montgomery County, NC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Montgomery County, NC is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 26,004 residents against a local median of 64,639. Montgomery County, NC's work from home, at 5.9%, runs 34% below the 8.9% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 7.8% on work from home, so Montgomery County, NC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Montgomery County, NC has the 5th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Montgomery County, North Carolina.
Is commuting expensive in Montgomery County, North Carolina?
Commuters here spend an estimated 189 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,856 at a typical national wage. That's 4% more than the typical North Carolina commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Montgomery County, North Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Montgomery County, North Carolina. 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Montgomery 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.
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).