Commuting in Pennsylvania: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 11:43 AM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Pennsylvania?
Map AI9/24/26, 11:43 AM
Commute Time Burden in Pennsylvania: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Pennsylvania spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 186 hours, about 7.8 full days, spent commuting. That is about the same time on the road as the US average of 22.4 minutes each way.
Pennsylvania holds about 3.9% of US's population but accounts for roughly 3.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Pennsylvania would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,311 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)
Pennsylvania
22.4 min
44.7 min
186 hrs/yr
$5,779
1,152
US
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
22.4
minutes to get to work in
Pennsylvania.
That's about the same as 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 15.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Pennsylvania
Car:
75.7%
Worked at Home:
15.6%
Public Transportation:
3.6%
Walked:
3.2%
Other:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.4%
Taxi:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Pennsylvania, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Pennsylvania 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
Public Transportation
Walked
Other
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
85.9%
3.4%
5.4%
4.1%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2010
85.9%
3.5%
5.4%
4.0%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
2011
85.8%
3.6%
5.4%
3.9%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2012
85.7%
3.7%
5.4%
3.9%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
2013
85.6%
3.8%
5.4%
3.9%
0.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2014
85.4%
3.9%
5.5%
3.8%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2015
85.2%
4.0%
5.5%
3.9%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2016
85.0%
4.2%
5.6%
3.8%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2017
84.9%
4.4%
5.6%
3.8%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
84.6%
4.6%
5.6%
3.7%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
84.4%
4.9%
5.6%
3.6%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
82.6%
7.1%
5.2%
3.5%
0.9%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
80.6%
9.8%
4.7%
3.3%
0.9%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
2022
78.9%
11.8%
4.3%
3.3%
1.0%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
2023
77.3%
13.8%
3.9%
3.3%
1.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
2024
75.7%
15.6%
3.6%
3.2%
1.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 85.9% in 2009 to 75.7% in 2024, down 10.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 14 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Pennsylvania: its share of workers rose from 3.4% in 2009 to 15.6% in 2024, up 12.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 10.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 5.4% to 3.6% of workers (down 1.8 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Pennsylvania
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Pennsylvania?
The bars show when commuters in Pennsylvania 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 the U.S. for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMPennsylvania5.3%The U.S.5.5%
5.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMPennsylvania3.9%The U.S.4.0%
3.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMPennsylvania5.3%The U.S.4.9%
5.3%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMPennsylvania8.9%The U.S.8.7%
8.9%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMPennsylvania10.1%The U.S.9.4%
10.1%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMPennsylvania13.8%The U.S.14.4%
13.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMPennsylvania11.4%The U.S.11.9%
11.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMPennsylvania10.9%The U.S.11.5%
10.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMPennsylvania5.8%The U.S.5.5%
5.8%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMPennsylvania6.1%The U.S.6.8%
6.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMPennsylvania2.7%The U.S.3.1%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMPennsylvania1.4%The U.S.1.5%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMPennsylvania7.6%The U.S.6.8%
7.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMPennsylvania6.9%The U.S.6.1%
6.9%
PennsylvaniaThe U.S.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Pennsylvania is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.4% across the U.S.. Early starts are about as common as in the U.S.: 14.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.4% there. The morning rush looks much like the U.S.'s: 46.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.7%) 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 Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania next to 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
Pennsylvania
United States
2009
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Pennsylvania were on the road by 7:37 AM, 2 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:39 AM). Commuters in Pennsylvania now leave at about the same time as the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Pennsylvania's commute time compare?
Metric
Pennsylvania
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
22.4 min
22.4 min
Work From Home
15.6%
15.0%
Walked
3.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
3.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Pennsylvania is about the same as in US.
3.6% commute by public transit, higher than the 3.2% in US. 3.2% commute by walking, higher than the 2.4% in US.
Pennsylvania is the 2nd largest of the 6 states compared here, 13,004,688 residents against a local median of 6,204,886. Where Pennsylvania breaks from the states next to it is one-way commute, sitting 21% below the local median of 28.3 min at 22.4 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The states themselves spread 8.2 min on one-way commute, so Pennsylvania sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Pennsylvania has the 2nd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Is living in Pennsylvania good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 186 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,779 at a typical national wage.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Pennsylvania?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Pennsylvania. 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.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Pennsylvania?
Among counties in Pennsylvania, the shortest average commutes are in Cameron County (11.4 min), Elk County (15.4 min), McKean County (15.9 min). The longest are in Pike County (32.5 min), Perry County (32.0 min), Carbon County (30.5 min).