Commuting in Ottawa County, Oklahoma: 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 Ottawa County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:45 PM
Commute Time Burden in Ottawa County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Ottawa County spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 141 hours, about 5.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 11% less time on the road than the Oklahoma average of 19.0 minutes each way, a difference of 2.0 minutes.
Ottawa County holds about 0.8% of Oklahoma's population but accounts for roughly 0.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Ottawa County would save about 56 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,750 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)
Ottawa County
16.9 min
33.9 min
141 hrs/yr
$4,374
956
Oklahoma
19.0 min
37.9 min
158 hrs/yr
$4,901
941
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
16.9
minutes to get to work in
Ottawa County.
That's 24% 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 4.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Ottawa County
Car:
92.2%
Worked at Home:
4.9%
Walked:
1.8%
Other:
0.8%
Public Transportation:
0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Biking is unusually rare in Ottawa County: 3.2 times less than the Oklahoma average (0.1% vs 0.2%).
Commute Mode Trends in Ottawa County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Ottawa 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
Motorcycle
Bicycle
2009
93.2%
3.4%
1.9%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.3%
2010
93.3%
3.4%
2.0%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.2%
2011
93.8%
2.9%
2.3%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2012
94.1%
2.1%
2.4%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
2013
94.3%
2.3%
1.9%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2014
94.1%
2.5%
2.1%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2015
95.2%
1.6%
1.8%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2016
94.8%
1.8%
1.9%
0.8%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
2017
95.0%
1.9%
1.7%
0.7%
0.4%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2018
95.2%
1.6%
1.8%
0.7%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2019
95.0%
1.9%
1.8%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2020
94.9%
2.1%
1.9%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
94.5%
2.7%
1.6%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.2%
2022
93.5%
3.6%
2.1%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
93.1%
4.1%
1.9%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
92.2%
4.9%
1.8%
0.8%
0.1%
0.1%
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 2015 at 95.2%. Overall it fell from 93.2% in 2009 to 92.2% in 2024, down 1.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Ottawa County: its share of workers rose from 3.4% in 2009 to 4.9% in 2024, up 1.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Ottawa County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Ottawa County?
The bars show when commuters in Ottawa 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 Oklahoma for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMOttawa County4.8%Oklahoma5.3%
4.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMOttawa County3.5%Oklahoma3.7%
3.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMOttawa County5.7%Oklahoma4.8%
5.7%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMOttawa County7.3%Oklahoma8.5%
7.3%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMOttawa County12.2%Oklahoma10.0%
12.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMOttawa County17.0%Oklahoma15.2%
17.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMOttawa County13.7%Oklahoma14.5%
13.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMOttawa County8.2%Oklahoma10.7%
8.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMOttawa County2.7%Oklahoma4.8%
2.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMOttawa County4.3%Oklahoma5.7%
4.3%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMOttawa County2.7%Oklahoma2.7%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMOttawa County1.4%Oklahoma1.2%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMOttawa County7.5%Oklahoma6.2%
7.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMOttawa County8.9%Oklahoma6.6%
8.9%
Ottawa CountyOklahomaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Ottawa County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 17.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.2% across Oklahoma. Early starts are about as common as in Oklahoma: 14.1% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.9% there. The morning rush looks much like Oklahoma's: 51.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 50.4% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.8%) 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa County next to Oklahoma 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
Ottawa County
Oklahoma
United States
2009
7:41 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:38 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:36 AM
7:36 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:35 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:36 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:35 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:34 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:34 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:33 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:33 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:31 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:33 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:29 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:29 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Ottawa County were on the road by 7:29 AM, 12 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:41 AM). The shift is sharper than across Oklahoma, where the typical start moved 4 minutes earlier. Commuters in Ottawa County now leave 9 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Ottawa County has moved 3 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Ottawa County in the whole series.
How does Ottawa County's commute time compare?
Metric
Ottawa County
Oklahoma
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
16.9 min
19.0 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
4.9%
9.4%
15.0%
Walked
1.8%
1.8%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.1%
0.3%
3.2%
The average commute time in Ottawa County is 16.9 minutes, shorter than the 19.0 minutes in Oklahoma.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.3% in Oklahoma. The share of commuters using walking is about the same as Oklahoma.
Ottawa County, OK Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Ottawa County, OK is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 30,341 residents against a local median of 23,701. The measure that sets Ottawa County, OK apart most is work from home: 4.9%, 43% below the local median of 8.6%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 16.9 min against a local median of 20.4 min, 17% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 17% below the local median it puts Ottawa County, OK at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 5.6% on work from home, so Ottawa County, OK sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Ottawa County, OK has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Ottawa County, Oklahoma.
Is living in Ottawa County, Oklahoma good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 141 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,374 at a typical national wage. That's 11% less than the typical Oklahoma commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Ottawa County, Oklahoma?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. 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.
Which counties in Oklahoma have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Oklahoma, the shortest average commutes are in Cimarron County (4.8 min), Woods County (8.5 min), Harmon County (8.8 min). The longest are in Cotton County (30.4 min), Logan County (28.5 min), Lincoln County (28.0 min).