Commuting in Erie County, Pennsylvania: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 3:45 PM
Is the commute in Erie County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 3:45 PM
Commute Time Burden in Erie County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Erie 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 147 hours, about 6.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 21% less time on the road than the Pennsylvania average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 4.7 minutes.
Erie County holds about 2.1% of Pennsylvania's population but accounts for roughly 1.6% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Erie County would save about 59 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,821 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)
Erie County
17.6 min
35.2 min
147 hrs/yr
$4,553
773
Pennsylvania
22.4 min
44.7 min
186 hrs/yr
$5,779
1,152
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
17.6
minutes to get to work in
Erie County.
That's 21% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 85% of counties in Pennsylvania
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 8.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Erie County
Car:
84.6%
Worked at Home:
8.9%
Walked:
3.5%
Other:
1.2%
Public Transportation:
0.9%unusually low
Bicycle:
0.4%
Taxi:
0.3%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public transit is unusually rare in Erie County: 3.8 times less than the Pennsylvania average (0.9% vs 3.6%).
Commute Mode Trends in Erie County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Erie 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
90.8%
2.3%
4.2%
0.6%
1.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
2010
91.0%
2.3%
4.1%
0.5%
1.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2011
90.5%
2.6%
4.2%
0.5%
1.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
2012
90.8%
2.8%
3.7%
0.5%
1.5%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
2013
90.4%
3.0%
3.9%
0.5%
1.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.2%
2014
89.8%
3.4%
4.1%
0.5%
1.7%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2015
89.1%
3.7%
4.3%
0.5%
1.7%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
2016
89.6%
3.6%
4.0%
0.5%
1.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2017
89.7%
3.6%
3.9%
0.5%
1.7%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
89.8%
3.6%
3.6%
0.5%
1.9%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
2019
89.7%
3.7%
3.5%
0.6%
1.8%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
89.2%
4.6%
3.2%
0.9%
1.5%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
87.6%
6.3%
3.2%
0.9%
1.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
86.6%
7.1%
3.1%
1.1%
1.4%
0.4%
0.2%
0.2%
2023
85.7%
8.2%
3.2%
1.1%
1.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
2024
84.6%
8.9%
3.5%
1.2%
0.9%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2010 at 91.0%. Overall it fell from 90.8% in 2009 to 84.6% in 2024, down 6.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Erie County: its share of workers rose from 2.3% in 2009 to 8.9% in 2024, up 6.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.2 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 4.2% to 3.5% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2019 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Erie County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Erie County?
The bars show when commuters in Erie 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 Pennsylvania for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMErie County4.1%Pennsylvania5.3%
4.1%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMErie County3.0%Pennsylvania3.9%
3.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMErie County5.1%Pennsylvania5.3%
5.1%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMErie County7.6%Pennsylvania8.9%
7.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMErie County11.2%Pennsylvania10.1%
11.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMErie County14.0%Pennsylvania13.8%
14.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMErie County13.6%Pennsylvania11.4%
13.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMErie County10.6%Pennsylvania10.9%
10.6%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMErie County5.1%Pennsylvania5.8%
5.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMErie County5.7%Pennsylvania6.1%
5.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMErie County2.7%Pennsylvania2.7%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMErie County1.2%Pennsylvania1.4%
1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMErie County9.0%Pennsylvania7.6%
9.0%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMErie County7.2%Pennsylvania6.9%
7.2%
Erie CountyPennsylvaniaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Erie County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.8% across Pennsylvania. Early starts are less common than in Pennsylvania: 12.3% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.4% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Pennsylvania: 49.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.2% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (25.7%) 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 Erie 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 Erie 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 Erie County next to Pennsylvania 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
Erie County
Pennsylvania
United States
2009
7:47 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:46 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:42 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:41 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:42 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:42 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:41 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Erie County were on the road by 7:41 AM, 6 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:47 AM). The shift is sharper than across Pennsylvania, where the typical start moved 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Erie County now leave 3 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Erie County's commute time compare?
Metric
Erie County
Pennsylvania
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.6 min
22.4 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
8.9%
15.6%
15.0%
Walked
3.5%
3.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.9%
3.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Erie County is 17.6 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Pennsylvania.
0.9% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.6% in Pennsylvania. 3.5% commute by walking, higher than the 3.2% in Pennsylvania.
Erie County, PA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Erie County, PA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 269,043 residents against a local median of 97,227. Nothing separates Erie County, PA 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 work from home, 14% above the local median at 8.9% against 7.9%. Erie County, PA has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Commuters here spend an estimated 147 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,553 at a typical national wage. That's 21% less than the typical Pennsylvania commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Erie County, 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.
How common is public transit use in Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.9% of commuters use it versus 3.6% in Pennsylvania, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Which counties in Pennsylvania have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).