Commuting in Onondaga 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, 8:31 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Onondaga County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:31 PM
Commute Time Burden in Onondaga County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Onondaga County spend about 36 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 150 hours, about 6.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 37% less time on the road than the New York average of 28.7 minutes each way, a difference of 10.6 minutes.
Onondaga County holds about 2.4% of New York's population but accounts for roughly 1.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Onondaga County would save about 60 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,866 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)
Onondaga County
18.1 min
36.1 min
150 hrs/yr
$4,664
1,481
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
18.1
minutes to get to work in
Onondaga County.
That's 19% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 75% of counties in New York
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 13.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Onondaga County
Car:
79.3%unusually high
Worked at Home:
13.1%
Walked:
3.6%
Public Transportation:
2.1%unusually low
Other:
1.1%
Taxi:
0.4%
Bicycle:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Driving is 44% more common in Onondaga County than the New York average (79.3% vs 55.0%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Onondaga County: 10.3 times less than the New York average (2.1% vs 21.7%).
Commute Mode Trends in Onondaga County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Onondaga 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
Public Transportation
Other
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
89.0%
3.0%
4.0%
2.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.4%
0.2%
2010
88.8%
3.1%
4.2%
2.7%
0.6%
0.0%
0.5%
0.2%
2011
88.4%
3.2%
4.1%
2.9%
0.6%
0.0%
0.5%
0.2%
2012
88.5%
3.2%
4.0%
2.9%
0.6%
0.0%
0.4%
0.2%
2013
88.3%
3.4%
4.2%
2.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.5%
0.2%
2014
87.9%
3.6%
4.4%
2.9%
0.8%
0.0%
0.4%
0.1%
2015
87.6%
3.6%
4.4%
3.2%
0.7%
0.0%
0.4%
0.1%
2016
87.7%
3.6%
4.4%
3.1%
0.7%
0.0%
0.4%
0.1%
2017
87.5%
4.0%
4.3%
3.1%
0.6%
0.0%
0.4%
0.1%
2018
87.8%
4.2%
4.0%
3.1%
0.5%
0.1%
0.4%
0.1%
2019
87.8%
4.4%
3.7%
2.9%
0.7%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2020
86.0%
6.4%
3.7%
2.6%
0.8%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
2021
84.2%
8.2%
3.6%
2.4%
0.9%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
2022
82.3%
9.9%
3.6%
2.4%
1.0%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
2023
80.9%
11.4%
3.7%
2.1%
1.1%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
2024
79.3%
13.1%
3.6%
2.1%
1.1%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 89.0% in 2009 to 79.3% in 2024, down 9.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Onondaga County: its share of workers rose from 3.0% in 2009 to 13.1% in 2024, up 10.1 percentage points. Most of that increase, 8.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.8% to 2.1% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2018 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Onondaga County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Onondaga County?
The bars show when commuters in Onondaga 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 AMOnondaga County3.4%New York3.9%
3.4%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMOnondaga County2.3%New York2.9%
2.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMOnondaga County4.2%New York3.7%
4.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMOnondaga County6.8%New York7.5%
6.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMOnondaga County10.7%New York8.1%
10.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMOnondaga County13.7%New York13.9%
13.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMOnondaga County15.1%New York11.1%
15.1%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMOnondaga County12.4%New York14.0%
12.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMOnondaga County6.8%New York7.7%
6.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMOnondaga County6.6%New York9.5%
6.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMOnondaga County2.7%New York3.7%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMOnondaga County1.8%New York1.7%
1.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMOnondaga County6.8%New York6.9%
6.8%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMOnondaga County6.5%New York5.3%
6.5%
Onondaga CountyNew YorkSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Onondaga County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 15.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.1% across New York. Early starts are about as common as in New York: 10.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 10.6% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in New York: 52.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.5%) 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 Onondaga 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 Onondaga 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 Onondaga 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
Onondaga County
New York
United States
2009
7:47 AM
7:54 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:49 AM
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:48 AM
7:54 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:48 AM
7:55 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:48 AM
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:48 AM
7:56 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:47 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:49 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:50 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:50 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:50 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:49 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:48 AM
7:55 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:48 AM
7:56 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:47 AM
7:56 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:48 AM
7:57 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Onondaga County were on the road by 7:48 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 Onondaga County now leave 10 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 Onondaga County has moved 3 minutes earlier.
How does Onondaga County's commute time compare?
Metric
Onondaga County
New York
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.1 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
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
13.1%
15.0%
15.0%
Walked
3.6%
5.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
2.1%
21.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Onondaga County is 18.1 minutes, shorter than the 28.7 minutes in New York.
2.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 21.7% in New York. 3.6% commute by walking, lower than the 5.6% in New York.
Onondaga County, NY Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Onondaga County, NY is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 470,361 residents against a local median of 75,102. The measure that sets Onondaga County, NY apart most is work from home: 13.1%, 58% above the local median of 8.3%.
The counties themselves spread 12.3% on work from home, so Onondaga County, NY sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Onondaga County, NY has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Onondaga County, New York.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Onondaga County, New York?
Commuters here spend an estimated 150 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,664 at a typical national wage. That's 37% less than the typical New York commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Onondaga County, New York?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Onondaga 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.
How common is public transit use in Onondaga County, New York?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 2.1% of commuters use it versus 21.7% in New York, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
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).