Commuting in Middlesex County, New Jersey: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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What does a typical morning commute look like in Middlesex County?
Map AI9/24/26, 1:13 PM
Commute Time Burden in Middlesex County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Middlesex County spend about 53 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 222 hours, about 9.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 2% more time on the road than the New Jersey average of 26.2 minutes each way, a difference of 0.4 minutes.
Middlesex County holds about 9.3% of New Jersey's population but accounts for roughly 9.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Middlesex County would save about 89 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,747 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)
Middlesex County
26.6 min
53.2 min
222 hrs/yr
$6,868
2,743
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
26.6
minutes to get to work in
Middlesex County.
That's 19% 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 18.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Middlesex County
Car:
69.4%
Worked at Home:
18.1%
Public Transportation:
5.9%
Walked:
2.9%
Other:
2.2%
Taxi:
1.3%
Bicycle:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Middlesex County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Middlesex 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
82.7%
3.1%
9.6%
3.3%
0.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2010
82.4%
3.2%
9.8%
3.2%
0.7%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2011
82.4%
3.3%
9.8%
3.1%
0.7%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2012
82.1%
3.5%
9.7%
3.0%
1.0%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2013
81.8%
3.4%
9.8%
2.8%
1.3%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
2014
81.7%
3.6%
9.7%
2.7%
1.6%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
2015
81.4%
3.8%
9.5%
2.9%
1.6%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2016
81.4%
4.0%
9.5%
2.7%
1.6%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2017
81.5%
4.2%
9.6%
2.4%
1.5%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
2018
81.5%
4.4%
9.7%
2.4%
1.2%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
81.5%
4.5%
9.9%
2.3%
1.0%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
2020
79.1%
7.7%
9.2%
1.9%
1.1%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
76.1%
11.5%
8.1%
2.0%
1.3%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
2022
73.4%
13.9%
7.3%
2.7%
1.6%
0.8%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
71.4%
16.1%
6.3%
2.8%
2.0%
1.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2024
69.4%
18.1%
5.9%
2.9%
2.2%
1.3%
0.3%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 82.7% in 2009 to 69.4% in 2024, down 13.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Middlesex County: its share of workers rose from 3.1% in 2009 to 18.1% in 2024, up 15.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 13.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 9.6% to 5.9% of workers (down 3.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Middlesex County
😴Sleeping InThe 3rd-highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among New Jersey's 21 counties: 26.8% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Middlesex County?
The bars show when commuters in Middlesex 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 AMMiddlesex County4.8%New Jersey3.9%
4.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMiddlesex County3.2%New Jersey3.1%
3.2%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMiddlesex County4.2%New Jersey3.9%
4.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMiddlesex County7.8%New Jersey8.0%
7.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMiddlesex County8.2%New Jersey8.9%
8.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMiddlesex County13.2%New Jersey14.2%
13.2%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMiddlesex County10.8%New Jersey11.8%
10.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMiddlesex County13.4%New Jersey14.0%
13.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMiddlesex County7.6%New Jersey7.6%
7.6%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMiddlesex County8.5%New Jersey8.1%
8.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMiddlesex County3.4%New Jersey3.2%
3.4%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMiddlesex County1.8%New Jersey1.5%
1.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMiddlesex County7.2%New Jersey6.3%
7.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMiddlesex County6.0%New Jersey5.4%
6.0%
Middlesex CountyNew JerseySource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Middlesex County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 13.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.0% across New Jersey. Early starts are more common than in New Jersey: 12.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.9% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in New Jersey: 45.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (26.8%) 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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
Middlesex County
New Jersey
United States
2009
7:50 AM
7:48 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:52 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
7:54 AM
7:51 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:53 AM
7:51 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:53 AM
7:51 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:53 AM
7:51 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:52 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:51 AM
7:50 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:49 AM
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:49 AM
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:48 AM
7:49 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:51 AM
7:50 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:53 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:54 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Middlesex County were on the road by 7:54 AM, 3 minutes later than in 2009 (7:50 AM). New Jersey followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes later. Commuters in Middlesex County now leave 16 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 Middlesex County has moved 4 minutes later.
How does Middlesex County's commute time compare?
Metric
Middlesex County
New Jersey
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
26.6 min
26.2 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
18.1%
16.8%
15.0%
Walked
2.9%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
5.9%
8.1%
3.2%
The average commute time in Middlesex County is 26.6 minutes, longer than the 26.2 minutes in New Jersey.
5.9% commute by public transit, lower than the 8.1% in New Jersey. 2.9% commute by walking, higher than the 2.6% in New Jersey.
Middlesex County, NJ Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Middlesex County, NJ is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 870,701 residents against a local median of 494,794. Middlesex County, NJ sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 4% below the local median at 18.1% against 18.9%. Middlesex County, NJ has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Is commuting expensive in Middlesex County, New Jersey?
Commuters here spend an estimated 222 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,868 at a typical national wage. That's 2% more than the typical New Jersey commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Middlesex County, New Jersey?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Middlesex County, New Jersey. 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 do commute times compare across counties in New Jersey?
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).