Commuting in Malheur County, Oregon: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 2:54 PM
Is the commute in Malheur County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 2:54 PM
Commute Time Burden in Malheur County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Malheur County spend about 28 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 116 hours, about 4.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 31% less time on the road than the Oregon average of 20.1 minutes each way, a difference of 6.2 minutes.
Malheur County holds about 0.8% of Oregon's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Malheur County would save about 47 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,444 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)
Malheur County
14.0 min
28.0 min
116 hrs/yr
$3,611
293
Oregon
20.1 min
40.3 min
168 hrs/yr
$5,203
967
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
14.0
minutes to get to work in
Malheur County.
That's 38% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 7.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Malheur County
Car:
86.2%
Worked at Home:
7.7%
Walked:
4.4%
Other:
1.3%
Bicycle:
0.3%unusually low
Public Transportation:
0.2%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Malheur County: 21.0 times less than the Oregon average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Malheur County: 12.1 times less than the Oregon average (0.2% vs 2.2%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Malheur County, versus 0.1% in Oregon.
Biking is unusually rare in Malheur County: 4.4 times less than the Oregon average (0.3% vs 1.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in Malheur County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Malheur 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
Bicycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
87.9%
5.4%
4.6%
0.9%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.7%
2010
85.7%
7.0%
5.0%
1.2%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.6%
2011
87.2%
6.1%
4.8%
1.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.5%
2012
85.1%
6.9%
5.9%
1.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.5%
2013
85.5%
6.7%
5.8%
1.0%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
2014
85.2%
7.2%
5.4%
0.8%
0.9%
0.1%
0.0%
0.3%
2015
86.6%
6.0%
5.6%
0.3%
1.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2016
86.0%
6.4%
5.3%
0.7%
1.1%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2017
87.0%
5.6%
4.7%
0.7%
1.6%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2018
86.4%
6.0%
5.3%
0.8%
1.1%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2019
86.9%
5.8%
5.7%
0.7%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2020
85.2%
6.1%
6.7%
1.2%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2021
84.7%
7.5%
5.8%
1.3%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
0.1%
2022
84.8%
7.7%
5.1%
2.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2023
84.2%
8.6%
5.4%
1.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2024
86.2%
7.7%
4.4%
1.3%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share bottomed out in 2023 at 84.2%. Overall it fell from 87.9% in 2009 to 86.2% in 2024, down 1.7 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Malheur County: its share of workers rose from 5.4% in 2009 to 7.7% in 2024, up 2.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 1.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Riding a motorcycle lost the most ground, falling from 0.7% to 0.0% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Walking peaked at 6.7% in 2020 and has since fallen back to 4.4%.
Commute Start Times in Malheur County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Malheur County?
The bars show when commuters in Malheur 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 Oregon for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMMalheur County3.6%Oregon5.9%
3.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMMalheur County5.0%Oregon3.8%
5.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMMalheur County3.5%Oregon5.0%
3.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMMalheur County6.7%Oregon7.6%
6.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMMalheur County6.7%Oregon9.7%
6.7%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMMalheur County14.1%Oregon13.0%
14.1%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMMalheur County16.1%Oregon13.0%
16.1%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMMalheur County12.6%Oregon10.6%
12.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMMalheur County2.1%Oregon5.8%
2.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMMalheur County5.4%Oregon7.2%
5.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMMalheur County3.0%Oregon3.7%
3.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMMalheur County1.0%Oregon1.8%
1.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMMalheur County11.0%Oregon7.1%
11.0%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMMalheur County9.2%Oregon5.7%
9.2%
Malheur CountyOregonSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Malheur County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 16.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.0% across Oregon. Early starts are less common than in Oregon: 12.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.7% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Oregon: 49.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.3% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (29.6%) 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 Malheur 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 Malheur 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 Malheur County next to Oregon 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
Malheur County
Oregon
United States
2009
7:43 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:44 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:44 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:46 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:40 AM
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:35 AM
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:40 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:42 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:43 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:43 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:47 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:48 AM
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:49 AM
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Malheur County were on the road by 7:49 AM, 6 minutes later than in 2009 (7:43 AM). The shift is sharper than across Oregon, where the typical start moved 2 minutes later. Commuters in Malheur County now leave 12 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 Malheur County has moved 5 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Malheur County in the whole series.
How does Malheur County's commute time compare?
Metric
Malheur County
Oregon
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
14.0 min
20.1 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
7.7%
19.0%
15.0%
Walked
4.4%
3.3%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.2%
2.2%
3.2%
The average commute time in Malheur County is 14.0 minutes, shorter than the 20.1 minutes in Oregon.
0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.2% in Oregon. 4.4% commute by walking, higher than the 3.3% in Oregon.
Malheur County, OR Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Malheur County, OR is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 31,953 residents against a local median of 26,771. Malheur County, OR's work from home, at 7.7%, runs 39% below the 12.6% typical of the counties around it.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 14.0 min against a local median of 20.2 min, 31% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 31% below the local median it puts Malheur County, OR at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 12.7% on work from home, so Malheur County, OR sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Malheur County, OR has the 5th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Malheur County, Oregon.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Malheur County, Oregon?
Commuters here spend an estimated 116 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,611 at a typical national wage. That's 31% less than the typical Oregon commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Malheur County, Oregon?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Malheur County, Oregon. 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Malheur County, Oregon?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.2% of commuters use it versus 2.2% in Oregon, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Oregon?
Among counties in Oregon, the shortest average commutes are in Lake County (7.7 min), Harney County (8.6 min), Baker County (8.9 min). The longest are in Columbia County (31.7 min), Clackamas County (23.9 min), Polk County (22.2 min).