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Salem County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Salem County, New Jersey: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 8:33 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Salem County?
Map AI 9/24/26, 8:33 PM

Commute Time Burden in Salem County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Salem County spend about 47 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 194 hours, about 8.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 11% less time on the road than the New Jersey average of 26.2 minutes each way, a difference of 2.9 minutes.

Salem County holds about 0.7% of New Jersey's population but accounts for roughly 0.6% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Salem County would save about 78 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,406 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)
Salem County 23.3 min 46.6 min 194 hrs/yr $6,014 1,027
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.

Commute Time Map: New Jersey Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in New Jersey
  1. Cape May County (18.1 min)
  2. Cumberland County (21.2 min)
  3. Atlantic County (21.6 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in New Jersey
  1. Hudson County (32.7 min)
  2. Sussex County (32.6 min)
  3. Hunterdon County (31.0 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Salem County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 23.3 minutes to get to work in Salem County. That's 4% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Faster than 75% of counties in New Jersey

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 9.5% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Salem County

  • Car: 86.9% unusually high
  • Worked at Home: 9.5%
  • Other: 1.4%
  • Walked: 1.4%
  • Public Transportation: 0.7% unusually low
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Motorcycle: < 0.1%
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low

Driving is 24% more common in Salem County than the New Jersey average (86.9% vs 69.9%).

Public transit is unusually rare in Salem County: 12.1 times less than the New Jersey average (0.7% vs 8.1%).

Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Salem County: 9.1 times less than the New Jersey average (0.1% vs 0.6%).

Biking is unusually rare in Salem County: 7.4 times less than the New Jersey average (0.0% vs 0.3%).

Commute Mode Trends in Salem County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Salem 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 Motorcycle Bicycle
2009 92.5% 3.1% 2.0% 0.6% 1.5% 0.0% 0.2% 0.1%
2010 92.9% 2.9% 1.9% 0.5% 1.5% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2%
2011 92.9% 2.9% 1.7% 0.6% 1.6% 0.0% 0.2% 0.1%
2012 93.2% 2.7% 1.8% 0.5% 1.5% 0.0% 0.2% 0.1%
2013 92.6% 2.7% 2.3% 0.4% 1.6% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
2014 93.2% 2.6% 1.9% 0.5% 1.3% 0.0% 0.2% 0.3%
2015 92.9% 2.7% 1.8% 1.0% 1.2% 0.0% 0.2% 0.3%
2016 92.9% 2.4% 2.0% 1.1% 1.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.3%
2017 92.7% 2.5% 1.8% 1.3% 1.1% 0.0% 0.2% 0.4%
2018 92.9% 2.9% 1.7% 1.2% 0.9% 0.0% 0.2% 0.3%
2019 92.6% 3.2% 1.8% 1.2% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2020 91.5% 4.3% 2.0% 1.0% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
2021 89.8% 6.0% 2.2% 0.8% 1.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
2022 88.7% 7.5% 1.9% 1.1% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 86.9% 9.5% 1.6% 1.3% 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 86.9% 9.5% 1.4% 1.4% 0.7% 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 2012 at 93.2%. Overall it fell from 92.5% in 2009 to 86.9% in 2024, down 5.6 percentage points.

Working from home gained the most ground in Salem County: its share of workers rose from 3.1% in 2009 to 9.5% in 2024, up 6.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.5% to 0.7% of workers (down 0.8 percentage points).

Commute Start Times in Salem County

  • Dawn PatrolThe 3rd-highest share of pre-6 AM departures among New Jersey's 21 counties: 15.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM.
  • Hitting SnoozeThe 3rd-biggest shift to later mornings among New Jersey's 21 counties: the typical start is 9 minutes later than in 2009.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Salem County?

The bars show when commuters in Salem 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
5.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
4.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5.3%
6:00-6:29 AM
9.4%
6:30-6:59 AM
10.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
12.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
14.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
10.7%
8:30-8:59 AM
5.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
3.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
2.5%
11:00-11:59 AM
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
8.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
7.1%

Salem County New Jersey Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Salem County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 14.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.8% across New Jersey. Early starts are more common than in New Jersey: 15.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.9% there. The morning rush looks much like New Jersey's: 47.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.0% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (22.5%) 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 Salem 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 Salem 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 Salem 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 Salem County New Jersey United States
2009 7:27 AM 7:48 AM 7:37 AM
2010 7:27 AM 7:49 AM 7:38 AM
2011 7:30 AM 7:49 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:26 AM 7:50 AM 7:38 AM
2013 7:26 AM 7:51 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:26 AM 7:51 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:24 AM 7:51 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:25 AM 7:51 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:25 AM 7:50 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:21 AM 7:50 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:20 AM 7:49 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:22 AM 7:49 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:23 AM 7:49 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:27 AM 7:50 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:29 AM 7:50 AM 7:38 AM
2024 7:36 AM 7:50 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Salem County were on the road by 7:36 AM, 9 minutes later than in 2009 (7:27 AM). The shift is sharper than across New Jersey, where the typical start moved 2 minutes later. Commuters in Salem County now leave 2 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 Salem County has moved 16 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Salem County in the whole series.

How does Salem County's commute time compare?

Metric Salem County New Jersey US Average
Avg. Commute Time 23.3 min 26.2 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 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 9.5% 16.8% 15.0%
Walked 1.4% 2.6% 2.4%
Public Transit 0.7% 8.1% 3.2%

The average commute time in Salem County is 23.3 minutes, shorter than the 26.2 minutes in New Jersey.

0.7% commute by public transit, lower than the 8.1% in New Jersey. 1.4% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in New Jersey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Salem County, NJ Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Salem County, NJ is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 65,196 residents against a local median of 526,561. Salem County, NJ's work from home, at 9.5%, runs 39% below the 15.5% typical of the counties around it.

The counties themselves spread 12.6% on work from home, so Salem County, NJ sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Salem County, NJ has the 5th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Salem County, NJ 65,196 23.3 min #3/6 9.5% #5/6 7:36 AM #2/6
Gloucester County, NJ 306,962 25.7 min 14.9% 7:39 AM
New Castle County, DE 577,338 21.9 min 17.6% 7:43 AM
Cumberland County, NJ 153,308 21.2 min 5.4% 7:34 AM
Delaware County, PA 578,234 26.1 min 18.0% 7:50 AM
Camden County, NJ 526,561 23.4 min 15.5% 7:47 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Salem County, New Jersey.

What is the financial impact of commuting in Salem County, New Jersey?

Commuters here spend an estimated 194 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,014 at a typical national wage. That's 11% less than the typical New Jersey commuter spends.

What are the busiest morning travel hours in Salem County, New Jersey?

Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Salem 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.

Do people use public transit in Salem County, New Jersey?

Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.7% of commuters use it versus 8.1% in New Jersey, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.

Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among 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).