Commuting in Albany County, New York: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:02 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Albany County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:02 PM
Commute Time Burden in Albany County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Albany County spend about 38 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 156 hours, about 6.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 35% less time on the road than the New York average of 28.7 minutes each way, a difference of 9.9 minutes.
Albany County holds about 1.6% of New York's population but accounts for roughly 1.0% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Albany County would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,938 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)
Albany County
18.8 min
37.5 min
156 hrs/yr
$4,845
1,335
New York
28.7 min
57.4 min
239 hrs/yr
$7,414
1,586
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
18.8
minutes to get to work in
Albany County.
That's 16% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 15.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Albany County
Car:
74.9%unusually high
Worked at Home:
15.2%
Public Transportation:
4.2%unusually low
Walked:
3.8%
Other:
1.0%
Taxi:
0.4%
Bicycle:
0.4%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Albany County: 3.5 times less than the New York average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Driving is 36% more common in Albany County than the New York average (74.9% vs 55.0%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Albany County: 5.2 times less than the New York average (4.2% vs 21.7%).
Commute Mode Trends in Albany County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Albany 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
85.9%
3.4%
4.7%
4.6%
0.6%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2010
85.2%
3.6%
5.1%
4.6%
0.8%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
2011
85.4%
3.5%
5.4%
4.4%
0.6%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
2012
85.4%
3.5%
5.3%
4.3%
0.7%
0.2%
0.4%
0.1%
2013
85.7%
3.3%
5.0%
4.3%
0.8%
0.2%
0.5%
0.2%
2014
85.5%
3.0%
5.3%
4.6%
1.0%
0.1%
0.4%
0.1%
2015
85.3%
2.9%
5.7%
4.5%
0.8%
0.1%
0.5%
0.1%
2016
84.9%
3.3%
5.5%
4.6%
0.8%
0.2%
0.5%
0.2%
2017
84.4%
3.5%
5.9%
4.6%
0.7%
0.2%
0.5%
0.2%
2018
84.2%
3.4%
6.1%
4.8%
0.6%
0.3%
0.5%
0.1%
2019
84.0%
3.9%
6.0%
4.7%
0.5%
0.3%
0.5%
0.1%
2020
82.1%
6.5%
5.6%
4.5%
0.4%
0.4%
0.4%
0.1%
2021
79.6%
9.6%
5.1%
4.4%
0.6%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
2022
78.0%
11.7%
4.6%
4.4%
0.7%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2023
76.1%
13.6%
4.3%
4.2%
1.0%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
2024
74.9%
15.2%
4.2%
3.8%
1.0%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 85.9% in 2009 to 74.9% in 2024, down 11.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 11 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Albany County: its share of workers rose from 3.4% in 2009 to 15.2% in 2024, up 11.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 4.6% to 3.8% of workers (down 0.8 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Public transit peaked at 6.1% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 4.2%.
Commute Start Times in Albany County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Albany County?
The bars show when commuters in Albany 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 York for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMAlbany County2.5%New York3.9%
2.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMAlbany County1.7%New York2.9%
1.7%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMAlbany County2.8%New York3.7%
2.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMAlbany County6.6%New York7.5%
6.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMAlbany County9.2%New York8.1%
9.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMAlbany County13.7%New York13.9%
13.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMAlbany County15.2%New York11.1%
15.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMAlbany County14.1%New York14.0%
14.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMAlbany County9.5%New York7.7%
9.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMAlbany County6.4%New York9.5%
6.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMAlbany County3.5%New York3.7%
3.5%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMAlbany County1.6%New York1.7%
1.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMAlbany County7.1%New York6.9%
7.1%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMAlbany County6.2%New York5.3%
6.2%
Albany CountyNew YorkSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Albany County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 15.2% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.1% across New York. Early starts are less common than in New York: 7.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.6% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in New York: 52.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.8%) 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 Albany 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 Albany 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 Albany County next to New York 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
Albany County
New York
United States
2009
7:56 AM
7:54 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:56 AM
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:57 AM
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:58 AM
7:55 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:59 AM
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
2014
8:00 AM
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
2015
8:00 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:59 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:57 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:57 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:57 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:57 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:57 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:57 AM
7:56 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:57 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:57 AM
7:57 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Albany County were on the road by 7:57 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across New York, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Albany County now leave 19 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Albany County's commute time compare?
Metric
Albany County
New York
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.8 min
28.7 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
15.2%
15.0%
15.0%
Walked
3.8%
5.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
4.2%
21.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Albany County is 18.8 minutes, shorter than the 28.7 minutes in New York.
4.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 21.7% in New York. 3.8% commute by walking, lower than the 5.6% in New York.
Albany County, NY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Albany County, NY is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 317,009 residents against a local median of 61,100. Nothing separates Albany County, NY sharply from the counties around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is one-way commute, 14% below the local median at 18.8 min against 21.8 min. Albany County, NY has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Albany County, New York.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Albany County, New York?
Commuters here spend an estimated 156 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,845 at a typical national wage. That's 35% less than the typical New York commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Albany County, New York?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Albany County, New York. 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.
Do people use public transit in Albany County, New York?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 4.2% of commuters use it versus 21.7% in New York, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in New York?
Among counties in New York, the shortest average commutes are in Hamilton County (13.6 min), Chautauqua County (15.4 min), Franklin County (16.4 min). The longest are in Bronx County (43.2 min), Queens County (41.8 min), Kings County (41.6 min).