Commuting in Mercer County, New Jersey: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:40 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Mercer County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:40 PM
Commute Time Burden in Mercer County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Mercer County spend about 43 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 180 hours, about 7.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 17% less time on the road than the New Jersey average of 26.2 minutes each way, a difference of 4.5 minutes.
Mercer County holds about 4.1% of New Jersey's population but accounts for roughly 3.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Mercer County would save about 72 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,237 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)
Mercer County
21.7 min
43.3 min
180 hrs/yr
$5,593
1,555
New Jersey
26.2 min
52.4 min
218 hrs/yr
$6,764
2,109
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
21.7
minutes to get to work in
Mercer County.
That's 3% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 5 fastest counties in New Jersey
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 19.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Mercer County
Car:
69.0%
Worked at Home:
19.5%
Public Transportation:
4.6%
Walked:
3.6%
Other:
1.8%
Taxi:
0.8%
Bicycle:
0.6%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Mercer County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Mercer 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
Public Transportation
Walked
Other
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
82.3%
3.8%
7.4%
4.0%
1.3%
0.3%
0.8%
0.1%
2010
81.8%
4.0%
7.3%
4.3%
1.5%
0.3%
0.8%
0.1%
2011
81.2%
4.4%
7.3%
4.6%
1.5%
0.3%
0.6%
0.0%
2012
81.0%
5.0%
7.3%
4.2%
1.4%
0.3%
0.7%
0.0%
2013
81.1%
5.0%
7.6%
3.8%
1.6%
0.3%
0.7%
0.0%
2014
81.1%
5.2%
7.8%
3.7%
1.2%
0.2%
0.7%
0.0%
2015
81.7%
5.1%
8.0%
3.2%
1.0%
0.3%
0.7%
0.0%
2016
82.0%
5.0%
7.9%
3.1%
0.9%
0.3%
0.8%
0.0%
2017
81.6%
5.1%
7.9%
3.5%
0.8%
0.4%
0.6%
0.0%
2018
82.1%
5.0%
7.5%
3.8%
0.4%
0.5%
0.5%
0.0%
2019
81.5%
5.1%
7.6%
4.4%
0.5%
0.5%
0.4%
0.0%
2020
79.1%
8.7%
6.7%
3.9%
0.4%
0.8%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
75.9%
12.8%
6.0%
3.9%
0.5%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
2022
73.7%
15.6%
5.2%
3.6%
0.6%
0.6%
0.7%
0.0%
2023
70.7%
17.8%
5.2%
3.5%
1.3%
0.7%
0.7%
0.1%
2024
69.0%
19.5%
4.6%
3.6%
1.8%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 82.3% in 2009 to 69.0% in 2024, down 13.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Mercer County: its share of workers rose from 3.8% in 2009 to 19.5% in 2024, up 15.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 14.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 7.4% to 4.6% of workers (down 2.8 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Mercer County
🦉Night OwlThe 3rd-latest start among New Jersey's 21 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:58 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Mercer County?
The bars show when commuters in Mercer 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 New Jersey for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMMercer County2.5%New Jersey3.9%
2.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMercer County2.3%New Jersey3.1%
2.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMercer County3.8%New Jersey3.9%
3.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMercer County7.2%New Jersey8.0%
7.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMercer County8.3%New Jersey8.9%
8.3%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMercer County15.1%New Jersey14.2%
15.1%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMercer County11.6%New Jersey11.8%
11.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMercer County13.5%New Jersey14.0%
13.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMercer County9.4%New Jersey7.6%
9.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMercer County7.9%New Jersey8.1%
7.9%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMercer County3.2%New Jersey3.2%
3.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMercer County1.3%New Jersey1.5%
1.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMercer County8.2%New Jersey6.3%
8.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMercer County5.7%New Jersey5.4%
5.7%
Mercer CountyNew JerseySource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Mercer County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.2% across New Jersey. Early starts are less common than in New Jersey: 8.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.9% there. The morning rush looks much like New Jersey's: 48.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.4%) 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 Mercer 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County next to New Jersey 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
Mercer County
New Jersey
United States
2009
7:55 AM
7:48 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:54 AM
7:49 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:54 AM
7:49 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:54 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:55 AM
7:51 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:55 AM
7:51 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:55 AM
7:51 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:54 AM
7:51 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:56 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:56 AM
7:50 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:55 AM
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:53 AM
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:55 AM
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:55 AM
7:50 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:55 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:58 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Mercer County were on the road by 7:58 AM, 4 minutes later than in 2009 (7:55 AM). New Jersey followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes later. Commuters in Mercer County now leave 20 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 Mercer County has moved 4 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Mercer County in the whole series.
How does Mercer County's commute time compare?
Metric
Mercer County
New Jersey
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
21.7 min
26.2 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
19.5%
16.8%
15.0%
Walked
3.6%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
4.6%
8.1%
3.2%
The average commute time in Mercer County is 21.7 minutes, shorter than the 26.2 minutes in New Jersey.
4.6% commute by public transit, lower than the 8.1% in New Jersey. 3.6% commute by walking, higher than the 2.6% in New Jersey.
Mercer County, NJ Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Mercer County, NJ is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 385,681 residents against a local median of 467,571. Where Mercer County, NJ breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 19% below the local median of 26.6 min at 21.7 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 7.2 min on one-way commute, so Mercer County, NJ sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Mercer County, NJ has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Mercer County, New Jersey.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Mercer County, New Jersey?
Commuters here spend an estimated 180 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,593 at a typical national wage. That's 17% less than the typical New Jersey commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Mercer County, New Jersey?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Mercer County, New Jersey. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Which counties in New Jersey have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in New Jersey, the shortest average commutes are in Cape May County (18.1 min), Cumberland County (21.2 min), Atlantic County (21.6 min). The longest are in Hudson County (32.7 min), Sussex County (32.6 min), Hunterdon County (31.0 min).