Commuting in Summit County, Ohio: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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How much time do drivers in Summit County spend on the road daily?
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Commute Time Burden in Summit County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Summit County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 173 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 1% less time on the road than the Ohio average of 21.1 minutes each way, a difference of 0.3 minutes.
Summit County holds about 4.6% of Ohio's population but accounts for roughly 4.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Summit County would save about 69 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,148 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)
Summit County
20.8 min
41.6 min
173 hrs/yr
$5,371
1,975
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
20.8
minutes to get to work in
Summit County.
That's 7% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 14.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Summit County
Car:
82.0%
Worked at Home:
14.8%
Walked:
1.2%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.8%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Summit County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Summit 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
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
92.9%
2.9%
1.9%
0.6%
1.5%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2010
93.0%
2.9%
1.7%
0.6%
1.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2011
93.0%
3.0%
1.6%
0.5%
1.5%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
2012
93.2%
3.0%
1.6%
0.4%
1.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2013
93.3%
3.0%
1.4%
0.4%
1.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2014
93.3%
2.9%
1.3%
0.4%
1.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2015
93.3%
2.9%
1.4%
0.4%
1.9%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
93.1%
3.0%
1.5%
0.3%
1.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2017
92.8%
3.5%
1.3%
0.4%
1.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
92.4%
3.9%
1.3%
0.4%
1.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2019
92.1%
4.3%
1.4%
0.5%
1.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2020
90.2%
6.6%
1.2%
0.5%
1.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
2021
88.0%
8.8%
1.2%
0.7%
1.2%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
86.0%
10.8%
1.2%
0.7%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
84.0%
13.0%
1.1%
0.8%
0.9%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
82.0%
14.8%
1.2%
0.9%
0.8%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2013 at 93.3%. Overall it fell from 92.9% in 2009 to 82.0% in 2024, down 10.9 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 9 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Summit County: its share of workers rose from 2.9% in 2009 to 14.8% in 2024, up 11.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 10.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 1.9% to 1.2% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Summit County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Summit County?
The bars show when commuters in Summit 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 AMSummit County3.8%Ohio5.2%
3.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSummit County3.0%Ohio3.9%
3.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSummit County4.9%Ohio5.3%
4.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSummit County7.7%Ohio8.4%
7.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSummit County10.1%Ohio10.1%
10.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSummit County14.3%Ohio13.4%
14.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSummit County13.7%Ohio12.2%
13.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSummit County11.3%Ohio10.5%
11.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSummit County6.0%Ohio5.5%
6.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSummit County5.7%Ohio6.0%
5.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSummit County2.9%Ohio2.8%
2.9%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSummit County1.4%Ohio1.5%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSummit County7.3%Ohio7.7%
7.3%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSummit County7.7%Ohio7.8%
7.7%
Summit CountyOhioSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Summit County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.4% across Ohio. Early starts are less common than in Ohio: 11.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.3% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Ohio: 49.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.2% 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 Summit 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 Summit 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 Summit 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
Summit County
Ohio
United States
2009
7:45 AM
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:44 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:44 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:44 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:44 AM
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:44 AM
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:42 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:42 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:43 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:42 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:43 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:43 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
7:44 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Summit County were on the road by 7:43 AM, 1 minute earlier than in 2009 (7:45 AM). Ohio followed the same path, with the typical start moving 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Summit County now leave 6 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Summit County's commute time compare?
Metric
Summit County
Ohio
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
20.8 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
14.8%
13.0%
15.0%
Walked
1.2%
2.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.8%
1.0%
3.2%
The average commute time in Summit County is about the same as in Ohio.
0.8% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.0% in Ohio. 1.2% commute by walking, lower than the 2.0% in Ohio.
Summit County, OH Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Summit County, OH is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 537,091 residents against a local median of 161,954. Nothing separates Summit County, OH 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, 9% below the local median at 20.8 min against 22.8 min. Summit County, OH has the 3rd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Summit County, Ohio.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Summit County, Ohio?
Commuters here spend an estimated 173 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,371 at a typical national wage. That's 1% less than the typical Ohio commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Summit County, Ohio?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Summit County, 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.
How do commute times compare across 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).