Commuting in Socorro County, New Mexico: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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How much time do drivers in Socorro County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:11 PM
Commute Time Burden in Socorro County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Socorro County spend about 23 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 96 hours, about 4.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 39% less time on the road than the New Mexico average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 7.3 minutes.
Socorro County holds about 0.8% of New Mexico's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Socorro County would save about 38 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,191 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)
Socorro County
11.5 min
23.0 min
96 hrs/yr
$2,977
293
New Mexico
18.8 min
37.7 min
157 hrs/yr
$4,866
619
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
11.5
minutes to get to work in
Socorro County.
That's 49% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 5 fastest counties in New Mexico
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 18.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Socorro County
Car:
70.3%
Worked at Home:
18.0%
Walked:
9.5%unusually high
Other:
1.5%
Bicycle:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Walking is unusually common in Socorro County: 5.0 times more than the New Mexico average (9.5% vs 1.9%).
Public transit is essentially absent in Socorro County, versus 0.6% in New Mexico.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Socorro County, versus 0.1% in New Mexico.
Socorro County stands out for active commuting: 10.0% of workers walk or bike to work, 4.1 times the New Mexico average of 2.4%.
Commute Mode Trends in Socorro County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Socorro 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
Bicycle
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
2009
87.0%
4.1%
6.8%
0.6%
1.1%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2010
87.9%
3.0%
6.6%
0.4%
1.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2011
87.2%
3.0%
7.4%
0.0%
1.7%
0.5%
0.3%
0.0%
2012
85.0%
4.0%
7.5%
1.0%
1.2%
1.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2013
82.4%
4.6%
8.3%
1.4%
2.1%
1.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2014
83.8%
4.8%
7.1%
1.3%
2.0%
0.8%
0.2%
0.0%
2015
84.6%
3.3%
7.2%
1.8%
2.1%
1.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2016
84.8%
2.8%
6.1%
2.8%
1.9%
1.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2017
84.8%
1.7%
7.4%
2.4%
2.4%
0.8%
0.5%
0.0%
2018
81.4%
4.3%
7.7%
2.2%
3.5%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
79.0%
6.2%
7.5%
2.6%
4.0%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2020
74.1%
14.9%
5.8%
1.3%
3.5%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
73.2%
17.0%
6.1%
0.6%
2.9%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2022
69.8%
17.2%
8.9%
0.8%
3.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
72.0%
16.0%
9.0%
1.4%
1.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
70.3%
18.0%
9.5%
1.5%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2010 at 87.9% and lowest in 2022 at 69.8%. Overall it fell from 87.0% in 2009 to 70.3% in 2024, down 16.7 percentage points. It has fallen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Socorro County: its share of workers rose from 4.1% in 2009 to 18.0% in 2024, up 13.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Biking lost the most ground, falling from 1.1% to 0.4% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Riding a motorcycle peaked at 1.3% in 2016 and has since fallen back to 0.2%.
Commute Start Times in Socorro County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Socorro County?
The bars show when commuters in Socorro 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 Mexico for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMSocorro County0.8%New Mexico4.6%
0.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSocorro County2.3%New Mexico3.5%
2.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSocorro County2.9%New Mexico5.1%
2.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSocorro County10.5%New Mexico8.7%
10.5%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSocorro County9.3%New Mexico10.1%
9.3%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSocorro County22.3%New Mexico15.5%
22.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSocorro County20.8%New Mexico14.8%
20.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSocorro County8.6%New Mexico11.1%
8.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSocorro County2.5%New Mexico4.5%
2.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSocorro County9.1%New Mexico6.0%
9.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSocorro County2.7%New Mexico3.1%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSocorro County0.2%New Mexico1.3%
0.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSocorro County4.5%New Mexico6.3%
4.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSocorro County3.3%New Mexico5.5%
3.3%
Socorro CountyNew MexicoSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Socorro County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 22.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.5% across New Mexico. Early starts are less common than in New Mexico: 6.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in New Mexico: 61.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 51.5% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.9%) 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 Socorro 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 Socorro 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 Socorro County next to New Mexico 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
Socorro County
New Mexico
United States
2009
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:51 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:50 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:59 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:54 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:53 AM
7:37 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:56 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:56 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:42 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:46 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:39 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:41 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:49 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:42 AM
7:35 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:36 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:33 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Socorro County were on the road by 7:33 AM, 9 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:42 AM). The shift is sharper than across New Mexico, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Socorro County now leave 5 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 Socorro County has moved 7 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Socorro County in the whole series.
How does Socorro County's commute time compare?
Metric
Socorro County
New Mexico
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
11.5 min
18.8 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
18.0%
12.2%
15.0%
Walked
9.5%
1.9%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Socorro County is 11.5 minutes, shorter than the 18.8 minutes in New Mexico.
0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.6% in New Mexico. 9.5% commute by walking, higher than the 1.9% in New Mexico.
Socorro County, NM Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Socorro County, NM is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 16,198 residents against a local median of 26,844. The measure that sets Socorro County, NM apart most is work from home: 18.0%, 62% above the local median of 11.1%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 11.5 min against a local median of 20.9 min, 45% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 45% below the local median it puts Socorro County, NM at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 6.7% on work from home, so Socorro County, NM sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Socorro County, NM has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Socorro County, New Mexico.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Socorro County, New Mexico?
Commuters here spend an estimated 96 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,977 at a typical national wage. That's 39% less than the typical New Mexico commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Socorro County, New Mexico?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Socorro County, New Mexico. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.
How common is public transit use in Socorro County, New Mexico?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.6% in New Mexico, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How much time do residents in Socorro County, New Mexico save by working from home?
About 18.0% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Socorro County would save about 38 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,191 at the same national wage assumption used above.
How do commute times compare across counties in New Mexico?
Among counties in New Mexico, the shortest average commutes are in De Baca County (7.9 min), Quay County (8.0 min), Union County (8.3 min). The longest are in Torrance County (36.5 min), Mora County (30.1 min), Valencia County (30.1 min).