Commuting in Wake 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, 12:33 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Wake County?
Map AI9/24/26, 12:33 PM
Commute Time Burden in Wake County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Wake County spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 191 hours, about 7.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 5% more time on the road than the North Carolina average of 21.9 minutes each way, a difference of 1.0 minutes.
Wake County holds about 11.0% of North Carolina's population but accounts for roughly 11.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Wake County would save about 76 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,365 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)
Wake County
22.9 min
45.8 min
191 hrs/yr
$5,914
2,850
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
22.9
minutes to get to work in
Wake County.
That's 2% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 29.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Wake County
Car:
67.3%
Worked at Home:
29.1%
Walked:
1.2%
Other:
1.2%
Public Transportation:
0.7%
Taxi:
0.3%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Wake County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Wake 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
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
90.1%
5.7%
1.6%
0.9%
1.1%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2010
90.0%
6.0%
1.6%
0.9%
1.1%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2011
89.4%
6.4%
1.6%
0.8%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2012
89.4%
6.5%
1.5%
0.8%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3%
0.2%
2013
89.3%
6.7%
1.5%
0.8%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.2%
2014
89.3%
6.8%
1.4%
0.7%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2015
88.7%
7.4%
1.4%
0.7%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2016
88.5%
7.7%
1.3%
0.8%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2017
88.2%
8.2%
1.3%
0.7%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2018
87.6%
8.9%
1.2%
0.7%
1.1%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2019
86.9%
9.6%
1.2%
0.7%
1.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2020
83.1%
13.3%
1.2%
0.9%
1.0%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
78.0%
18.7%
1.2%
0.8%
0.9%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2022
74.3%
22.4%
1.2%
1.0%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2023
70.4%
26.0%
1.3%
1.1%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2024
67.3%
29.1%
1.2%
1.2%
0.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 90.1% in 2009 to 67.3% in 2024, down 22.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 10 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Wake County: its share of workers rose from 5.7% in 2009 to 29.1% in 2024, up 23.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 19.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Wake County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Wake County?
The bars show when commuters in Wake 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 AMWake County3.2%North Carolina4.4%
3.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMWake County2.2%North Carolina3.5%
2.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMWake County3.0%North Carolina4.6%
3.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMWake County7.1%North Carolina9.0%
7.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMWake County9.3%North Carolina10.2%
9.3%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMWake County14.2%North Carolina15.3%
14.2%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMWake County12.9%North Carolina12.8%
12.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMWake County14.9%North Carolina11.7%
14.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMWake County8.4%North Carolina5.4%
8.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMWake County9.1%North Carolina6.4%
9.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMWake County2.8%North Carolina2.8%
2.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMWake County1.5%North Carolina1.4%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMWake County5.6%North Carolina6.3%
5.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMWake County5.7%North Carolina6.4%
5.7%
Wake CountyNorth CarolinaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Wake County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 14.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.7% across North Carolina. Early starts are less common than in North Carolina: 8.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.5% there. The morning rush looks much like North Carolina's: 51.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.7%) 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 Wake 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 Wake 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 Wake 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
Wake County
North Carolina
United States
2009
7:49 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:48 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:50 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:52 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:53 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:53 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:52 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:51 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:52 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:51 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:52 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:54 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Wake County were on the road by 7:55 AM, 7 minutes later than in 2009 (7:49 AM). The shift is sharper than across North Carolina, where the typical start moved 1 minute later. Commuters in Wake County now leave 18 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Wake County has moved 4 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Wake County in the whole series.
How does Wake County's commute time compare?
Metric
Wake County
North Carolina
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
22.9 min
21.9 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 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
29.1%
16.3%
15.0%
Walked
1.2%
1.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.7%
0.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Wake County is 22.9 minutes, longer than the 21.9 minutes in North Carolina.
The share of commuters using public transit is about the same as North Carolina. 1.2% commute by walking, lower than the 1.6% in North Carolina.
Wake County, NC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Wake County, NC is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 1,178,613 residents against a local median of 139,132. Wake County, NC's work from home, at 29.1%, runs 109% above the 13.9% typical of the counties around it.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 22.9 min against a local median of 30.6 min, 25% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 25% below the local median it puts Wake County, NC at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 14.1% on work from home, so Wake County, NC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Wake County, NC has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Wake County, North Carolina.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Wake County, North Carolina?
Commuters here spend an estimated 191 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,914 at a typical national wage. That's 5% more than the typical North Carolina commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Wake County, North Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Wake 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.
How much money can remote workers save in Wake County, North Carolina?
About 29.1% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Wake County would save about 76 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,365 at the same national wage assumption used above.
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).