Commuting in Nassau 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, 3:46 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Nassau County?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:46 PM
Commute Time Burden in Nassau County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Nassau County spend about 62 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 259 hours, about 10.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 8% more time on the road than the New York average of 28.7 minutes each way, a difference of 2.4 minutes.
Nassau County holds about 7.0% of New York's population but accounts for roughly 7.6% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Nassau County would save about 104 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $3,214 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)
Nassau County
31.1 min
62.2 min
259 hrs/yr
$8,034
3,316
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
31.1
minutes to get to work in
Nassau County.
That's 39% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 92% of counties in New York
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 15.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Nassau County
Car:
68.0%unusually high
Worked at Home:
15.6%
Public Transportation:
12.5%
Walked:
2.0%
Other:
1.2%
Taxi:
0.4%
Bicycle:
0.2%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Driving is 24% more common in Nassau County than the New York average (68.0% vs 55.0%).
Biking is unusually rare in Nassau County: 3.8 times less than the New York average (0.2% vs 0.8%).
Commute Mode Trends in Nassau County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Nassau 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
76.9%
3.3%
16.1%
2.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2010
76.7%
3.4%
16.1%
2.7%
0.5%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2011
77.0%
3.5%
15.8%
2.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2012
77.1%
3.5%
15.6%
2.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2013
77.0%
3.5%
15.8%
2.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2014
76.7%
3.6%
15.8%
2.8%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2015
76.3%
3.6%
16.3%
2.7%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2016
75.9%
3.8%
16.6%
2.6%
0.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2017
75.8%
3.8%
16.7%
2.6%
0.6%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2018
75.6%
4.1%
16.9%
2.4%
0.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
75.3%
4.2%
17.1%
2.3%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2020
73.6%
7.1%
16.0%
2.2%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
72.1%
10.0%
14.4%
2.2%
0.7%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2022
70.7%
12.2%
13.6%
2.0%
0.8%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2023
69.4%
13.8%
13.0%
2.1%
1.0%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2024
68.0%
15.6%
12.5%
2.0%
1.2%
0.4%
0.2%
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 77.1%. Overall it fell from 76.9% in 2009 to 68.0% in 2024, down 8.9 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 12 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Nassau County: its share of workers rose from 3.3% in 2009 to 15.6% in 2024, up 12.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 16.1% to 12.5% of workers (down 3.6 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2023 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Nassau County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Nassau County?
The bars show when commuters in Nassau 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 AMNassau County3.8%New York3.9%
3.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMNassau County3.1%New York2.9%
3.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMNassau County3.9%New York3.7%
3.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMNassau County7.9%New York7.5%
7.9%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMNassau County7.8%New York8.1%
7.8%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMNassau County14.5%New York13.9%
14.5%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMNassau County10.5%New York11.1%
10.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMNassau County14.8%New York14.0%
14.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMNassau County8.5%New York7.7%
8.5%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMNassau County9.5%New York9.5%
9.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMNassau County3.6%New York3.7%
3.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMNassau County1.5%New York1.7%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMNassau County5.9%New York6.9%
5.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMNassau County4.5%New York5.3%
4.5%
Nassau CountyNew YorkSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Nassau County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 14.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.0% across New York. Early starts are about as common as in New York: 10.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.6% there. The morning rush looks much like New York's: 47.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (25.1%) 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 Nassau 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 Nassau 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 Nassau 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
Nassau 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
7:56 AM
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:55 AM
7:55 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:55 AM
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:55 AM
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:55 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:55 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:53 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:53 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:53 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:52 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:53 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:54 AM
7:56 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:55 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:55 AM
7:57 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Nassau County were on the road by 7:55 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 Nassau County now leave 18 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 Nassau County has moved 3 minutes later.
How does Nassau County's commute time compare?
Metric
Nassau County
New York
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
31.1 min
28.7 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
15.6%
15.0%
15.0%
Walked
2.0%
5.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
12.5%
21.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Nassau County is 31.1 minutes, longer than the 28.7 minutes in New York.
12.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 21.7% in New York. 2.0% commute by walking, lower than the 5.6% in New York.
Nassau County, NY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Nassau County, NY is typical in size for this group, 1,389,398 residents against a local median of 1,628,057, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where Nassau County, NY breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 25% below the local median of 41.6 min at 31.1 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Work from home tells the same story from another angle: 15.6% against a local median of 19.1%, 18% below it. The counties themselves spread 12.6 min on one-way commute, so Nassau County, NY sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Nassau County, NY has the 3rd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Nassau County, New York.
Is living in Nassau County, New York good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 259 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $8,034 at a typical national wage. That's 8% more than the typical New York commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Nassau County, New York?
Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Nassau County, New York. 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.
Which counties in New York have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).