Commuting in Surry 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, 8:39 PM
Is the commute in Surry County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:39 PM
Commute Time Burden in Surry County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Surry County spend about 38 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 158 hours, about 6.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 13% less time on the road than the North Carolina average of 21.9 minutes each way, a difference of 2.9 minutes.
Surry County holds about 0.7% of North Carolina's population but accounts for roughly 0.6% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Surry County would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,954 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)
Surry County
18.9 min
37.8 min
158 hrs/yr
$4,885
1,004
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
18.9
minutes to get to work in
Surry County.
That's 16% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 77% of counties in North Carolina
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 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 Surry County
Car:
91.9%
Worked at Home:
6.7%
Walked:
0.6%
Other:
0.4%
Bicycle:
0.1%
Public Transportation:
0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Surry County: 5.5 times less than the North Carolina average (0.1% vs 0.7%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Surry County, versus 0.2% in North Carolina.
Commute Mode Trends in Surry County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Surry 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
Motorcycle
Bicycle
Taxi
2009
94.1%
3.5%
1.2%
0.7%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2010
94.3%
3.1%
1.3%
0.7%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
94.2%
2.9%
1.3%
0.6%
0.9%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
95.1%
2.3%
0.7%
0.9%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
95.6%
2.3%
0.7%
0.8%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
95.5%
2.8%
0.6%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2015
95.1%
2.8%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
95.2%
2.8%
0.6%
0.8%
0.6%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2017
95.2%
3.0%
0.5%
0.6%
0.6%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
95.2%
2.9%
0.6%
0.7%
0.5%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
95.5%
2.4%
0.9%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2020
95.4%
2.9%
0.9%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
95.1%
3.4%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
94.5%
4.1%
0.9%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
93.0%
5.5%
0.9%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
91.9%
6.7%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
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 2013 at 95.6%. Overall it fell from 94.1% in 2009 to 91.9% in 2024, down 2.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Surry County: its share of workers rose from 3.5% in 2009 to 6.7% in 2024, up 3.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 4.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 1.2% to 0.6% of workers (down 0.6 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Surry County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Surry County?
The bars show when commuters in Surry 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 AMSurry County5.4%North Carolina4.4%
5.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSurry County3.8%North Carolina3.5%
3.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSurry County6.4%North Carolina4.6%
6.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSurry County8.8%North Carolina9.0%
8.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSurry County10.5%North Carolina10.2%
10.5%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSurry County14.6%North Carolina15.3%
14.6%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSurry County14.7%North Carolina12.8%
14.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSurry County8.4%North Carolina11.7%
8.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSurry County4.9%North Carolina5.4%
4.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSurry County5.6%North Carolina6.4%
5.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSurry County2.4%North Carolina2.8%
2.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSurry County0.5%North Carolina1.4%
0.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSurry County7.9%North Carolina6.3%
7.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSurry County6.1%North Carolina6.4%
6.1%
Surry CountyNorth CarolinaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Surry County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 14.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.8% across North Carolina. Early starts are more common than in North Carolina: 15.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.5% there. The morning rush looks much like North Carolina's: 48.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (22.4%) 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 Surry 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 Surry 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 Surry 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
Surry County
North Carolina
United States
2009
7:31 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:30 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:28 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:23 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:24 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:29 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Surry County were on the road by 7:31 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across North Carolina, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in Surry County now leave 7 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 Surry County has moved 4 minutes later.
How does Surry County's commute time compare?
Metric
Surry County
North Carolina
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.9 min
21.9 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 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
6.7%
16.3%
15.0%
Walked
0.6%
1.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.1%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Surry County is 18.9 minutes, shorter than the 21.9 minutes in North Carolina.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.7% in North Carolina. 0.6% commute by walking, lower than the 1.6% in North Carolina.
Surry County, NC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Surry County, NC is the largest of the 5 counties compared here, 71,374 residents against a local median of 33,355. Where Surry County, NC breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 23% below the local median of 24.7 min at 18.9 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 11.4 min on one-way commute, so Surry County, NC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Surry County, NC has the lowest one-way commute of the 5 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Surry County, North Carolina.
Is commuting expensive in Surry County, North Carolina?
Commuters here spend an estimated 158 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,885 at a typical national wage. That's 13% less than the typical North Carolina commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Surry County, North Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Surry 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 Surry 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.
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).