Commuting in Marion County, Ohio: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:18 PM
Is the commute in Marion County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:18 PM
Commute Time Burden in Marion County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Marion County spend about 35 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 145 hours, about 6.0 full days, spent commuting. That is 18% less time on the road than the Ohio average of 21.1 minutes each way, a difference of 3.7 minutes.
Marion County holds about 0.6% of Ohio's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Marion County would save about 58 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,793 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)
Marion County
17.3 min
34.7 min
145 hrs/yr
$4,481
602
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.
On average, it takes
17.3
minutes to get to work in
Marion County.
That's 23% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 86% of counties in Ohio
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 04:00 PM – 11:59 PM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 6.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Marion County
Car:
90.9%
Worked at Home:
6.2%
Walked:
0.9%
Other:
0.8%
Public Transportation:
0.7%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Marion County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Marion 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
Public Transportation
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
93.2%
2.9%
1.9%
0.6%
0.6%
0.2%
0.4%
0.1%
2010
93.8%
2.8%
1.9%
0.4%
0.6%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2011
95.0%
2.6%
1.3%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2012
94.9%
2.5%
1.1%
0.5%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2013
95.3%
2.1%
1.2%
0.4%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2014
95.7%
1.8%
1.1%
0.4%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.4%
2015
94.7%
1.7%
1.4%
0.8%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.4%
2016
93.8%
2.2%
1.6%
0.9%
0.9%
0.1%
0.2%
0.4%
2017
93.9%
2.4%
1.5%
0.7%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.4%
2018
93.7%
2.5%
1.5%
1.0%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
93.2%
3.3%
1.3%
0.9%
1.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
93.1%
3.9%
0.7%
0.9%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.2%
2021
92.8%
4.3%
1.0%
0.9%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2022
92.3%
4.8%
1.1%
0.9%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2023
91.6%
5.9%
0.9%
0.9%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2024
90.9%
6.2%
0.9%
0.8%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2014 at 95.7%. Overall it fell from 93.2% in 2009 to 90.9% in 2024, down 2.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 7 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Marion County: its share of workers rose from 2.9% in 2009 to 6.2% in 2024, up 3.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 2.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 1.9% to 0.9% of workers (down 1.0 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Marion County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Marion County?
The bars show when commuters in Marion 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 Ohio for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMMarion County7.0%Ohio5.2%
7.0%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMarion County4.5%Ohio3.9%
4.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMarion County6.0%Ohio5.3%
6.0%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMarion County7.8%Ohio8.4%
7.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMarion County8.4%Ohio10.1%
8.4%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMarion County12.4%Ohio13.4%
12.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMarion County10.3%Ohio12.2%
10.3%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMarion County8.9%Ohio10.5%
8.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMarion County6.6%Ohio5.5%
6.6%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMarion County3.7%Ohio6.0%
3.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMarion County2.3%Ohio2.8%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMarion County1.6%Ohio1.5%
1.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMarion County9.6%Ohio7.7%
9.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMarion County10.8%Ohio7.8%
10.8%
Marion CountyOhioSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Marion County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 12.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.4% across Ohio. Early starts are more common than in Ohio: 17.5% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.3% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Ohio: 40.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.2% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (28.0%) 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 Marion 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 Marion 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 Marion County 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.
Median time commuters leave home, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.Show typical departure times by year
Year
Marion County
Ohio
United States
2009
7:41 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:43 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:42 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:41 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:39 AM
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:41 AM
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:38 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:41 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:39 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:39 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:37 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:47 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:41 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Marion County were on the road by 7:41 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Ohio, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Marion County now leave 3 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 Marion County has moved 5 minutes later.
How does Marion County's commute time compare?
Metric
Marion County
Ohio
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.3 min
21.1 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
04:00 PM – 11:59 PM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
6.2%
13.0%
15.0%
Walked
0.9%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.7%
1.0%
3.2%
The average commute time in Marion County is 17.3 minutes, shorter than the 21.1 minutes in Ohio.
0.7% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.0% in Ohio. 0.9% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Ohio.
Marion County, OH Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Marion County, OH is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 65,020 residents against a local median of 41,711. The measure that sets Marion County, OH apart most is work from home: 6.2%, 50% below the local median of 12.4%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 17.3 min against a local median of 23.4 min, 26% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 26% below the local median it puts Marion County, OH at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 21.2% on work from home, so Marion County, OH sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Marion County, OH has the 5th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Marion County, Ohio.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Marion County, Ohio?
Commuters here spend an estimated 145 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,481 at a typical national wage. That's 18% less than the typical Ohio commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Marion County, Ohio?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Marion County, Ohio. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 04:00 PM – 11:59 PM also sees a secondary bump.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Ohio?
Among counties in Ohio, the shortest average commutes are in Hancock County (15.3 min), Van Wert County (15.5 min), Mercer County (16.0 min). The longest are in Morgan County (32.5 min), Vinton County (32.0 min), Brown County (32.0 min).