Cleveland Heights Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Cleveland Heights, Ohio: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Cleveland Heights: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Cleveland Heights spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 177 hours, about 7.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 1% more time on the road than the Ohio average of 21.1 minutes each way, a difference of 0.2 minutes.
Cleveland Heights holds about 0.4% of Ohio's population and accounts for roughly 0.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Cleveland Heights would save about 71 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,195 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Heights | 21.2 min | 42.5 min | 177 hrs/yr | $5,487 | 2,647 |
| Ohio | 21.1 min | 42.2 min | 176 hrs/yr | $5,447 | 1,212 |
| 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.
Cleveland Heights Commute Map
On average, it takes 21.2 minutes to get to work in Cleveland Heights. That's 5% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 18.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Cleveland Heights
- Car: 70.8%
- Worked at Home: 18.3%
- Walked: 4.6%
- Public Transportation: 3.1% unusually high
- Bicycle: 1.4% unusually high
- Other: 1.4%
- Taxi: 0.4%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1%
Public transit is unusually common in Cleveland Heights: 3.1 times more than the Ohio average (3.1% vs 1.0%).
Biking is unusually common in Cleveland Heights: 4.8 times more than the Ohio average (1.4% vs 0.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in Cleveland Heights, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Cleveland Heights 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Public Transportation | Bicycle | Other | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 83.2% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 6.6% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2010 | 83.4% | 3.8% | 4.8% | 6.6% | 1.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2011 | 83.1% | 4.1% | 5.0% | 6.4% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2012 | 82.9% | 4.1% | 5.6% | 6.0% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2013 | 82.7% | 4.6% | 5.0% | 5.9% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2014 | 83.4% | 4.2% | 5.4% | 5.1% | 1.3% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2015 | 82.8% | 4.7% | 5.6% | 4.8% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2016 | 82.1% | 5.0% | 5.7% | 5.3% | 1.2% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2017 | 82.6% | 4.8% | 5.4% | 4.8% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2018 | 82.8% | 4.5% | 5.6% | 4.9% | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 82.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% | 4.4% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 79.5% | 7.9% | 5.5% | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 77.5% | 12.1% | 4.4% | 3.1% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 75.9% | 14.0% | 4.7% | 2.8% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 73.7% | 16.4% | 4.4% | 3.0% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 70.8% | 18.3% | 4.6% | 3.1% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2010 at 83.4%. Overall it fell from 83.2% in 2009 to 70.8% in 2024, down 12.4 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Cleveland Heights: its share of workers rose from 4.4% in 2009 to 18.3% in 2024, up 13.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 13.2 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 6.6% to 3.1% of workers (down 3.5 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Walking peaked at 5.7% in 2016 and has since fallen back to 4.6%.
Commute Start Times in Cleveland Heights
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Cleveland Heights?
The bars show when commuters in Cleveland Heights 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 Ohio for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Cleveland Heights2.0%
Ohio5.2%
|
2.0% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Cleveland Heights2.1%
Ohio3.9%
|
2.1% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Cleveland Heights1.9%
Ohio5.3%
|
1.9% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Cleveland Heights5.2%
Ohio8.4%
|
5.2% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Cleveland Heights8.4%
Ohio10.1%
|
8.4% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Cleveland Heights11.7%
Ohio13.4%
|
11.7% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Cleveland Heights12.6%
Ohio12.2%
|
12.6% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Cleveland Heights12.4%
Ohio10.5%
|
12.4% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Cleveland Heights8.7%
Ohio5.5%
|
8.7% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Cleveland Heights15.8%
Ohio6.0%
|
15.8% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Cleveland Heights3.8%
Ohio2.8%
|
3.8% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Cleveland Heights1.7%
Ohio1.5%
|
1.7% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Cleveland Heights8.8%
Ohio7.7%
|
8.8% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Cleveland Heights4.9%
Ohio7.8%
|
4.9% |
Cleveland Heights Ohio Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Cleveland Heights is 9:00-9:59 AM, when 15.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 6.0% across Ohio. Early starts are less common than in Ohio: 6.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.3% there. The morning rush looks much like Ohio's: 45.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.2% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (35.0%) 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 Cleveland Heights, 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 Cleveland Heights 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 Cleveland Heights next to Ohio 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Cleveland Heights | Ohio | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 8:10 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 8:12 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 8:12 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 8:13 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 8:10 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 8:08 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 8:08 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 8:10 AM | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 8:06 AM | 7:41 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 8:06 AM | 7:40 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 8:07 AM | 7:40 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 8:09 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 8:10 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 8:16 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 8:14 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 8:15 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Cleveland Heights were on the road by 8:15 AM, 4 minutes later than in 2009 (8:10 AM). That goes against the trend across Ohio, where the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Cleveland Heights now leave 37 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 Cleveland Heights has moved 8 minutes later.
How does Cleveland Heights's commute time compare?
| Metric | Cleveland Heights | Ohio | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 21.2 min | 21.1 min | 22.4 min |
| Departure Window | 09:00 AM – 09:59 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 | 18.3% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 4.6% | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 3.1% | 1.0% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Cleveland Heights is about the same as in Ohio.
3.1% commute by public transit, higher than the 1.0% in Ohio. 4.6% commute by walking, higher than the 2.0% in Ohio.
Cleveland Heights, OH Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
How Cleveland Heights, OH compares with the 2 cities closest to it.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Heights, OH | 44,352 | 21.2 min #1/3 | 18.3% #2/3 | 8:15 AM #3/3 |
| Shaker Heights, OH | 28,870 | 21.6 min | 23.4% | 8:11 AM |
| South Euclid, OH | 21,544 | 21.5 min | 18.3% | 7:50 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Is commuting expensive in Cleveland Heights, Ohio?
Commuters here spend an estimated 177 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,487 at a typical national wage. That's 1% more than the typical Ohio commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Cleveland Heights, Ohio?
Traffic peaks between 09:00 AM – 09:59 AM in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Cleveland Heights, Ohio?
Public transit usage is notably higher here than typical: about 3.1% of commuters use it versus 1.0% in Ohio, making it a realistic option for many workers.
How much money can remote workers save in Cleveland Heights, Ohio?
About 18.3% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Cleveland Heights would save about 71 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,195 at the same national wage assumption used above.