Commuting in Lehigh 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, 8:28 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Lehigh County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:28 PM
Commute Time Burden in Lehigh County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Lehigh County spend about 43 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 179 hours, about 7.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 4% less time on the road than the Pennsylvania average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 0.9 minutes.
Lehigh County holds about 2.9% of Pennsylvania's population but accounts for roughly 2.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Lehigh County would save about 72 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,219 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)
Lehigh County
21.5 min
42.9 min
179 hrs/yr
$5,548
1,524
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
21.5
minutes to get to work in
Lehigh County.
That's 4% 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 14.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Lehigh County
Car:
80.8%
Worked at Home:
14.0%
Walked:
2.1%
Public Transportation:
1.4%
Other:
1.3%
Taxi:
0.3%
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Lehigh County: 10.3 times less than the Pennsylvania average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Biking is unusually rare in Lehigh County: 4.7 times less than the Pennsylvania average (0.1% vs 0.4%).
Commute Mode Trends in Lehigh County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Lehigh 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
Public Transportation
Other
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
91.0%
3.1%
3.1%
2.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2010
91.0%
3.4%
2.8%
2.1%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
2011
90.5%
3.9%
2.7%
2.1%
0.2%
0.1%
0.3%
0.2%
2012
90.6%
3.9%
2.7%
2.1%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2013
90.7%
4.0%
2.7%
1.9%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2014
90.3%
4.0%
2.7%
2.1%
0.4%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
2015
90.2%
4.1%
2.6%
2.1%
0.5%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2016
89.7%
4.3%
2.6%
2.3%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2017
90.1%
4.5%
2.3%
2.1%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2018
90.1%
4.5%
2.4%
2.1%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2019
90.1%
4.6%
2.3%
2.1%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2020
88.2%
6.5%
2.5%
1.8%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2021
86.2%
8.8%
2.3%
1.6%
0.9%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
84.1%
10.5%
2.4%
1.6%
1.2%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
82.5%
12.1%
2.2%
1.5%
1.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
80.8%
14.0%
2.1%
1.4%
1.3%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 91.0% in 2009 to 80.8% in 2024, down 10.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Lehigh County: its share of workers rose from 3.1% in 2009 to 14.0% in 2024, up 10.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 3.1% to 2.1% of workers (down 1.0 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Lehigh County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Lehigh County?
The bars show when commuters in Lehigh 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 AMLehigh County6.0%Pennsylvania5.3%
6.0%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMLehigh County4.0%Pennsylvania3.9%
4.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMLehigh County4.8%Pennsylvania5.3%
4.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMLehigh County8.7%Pennsylvania8.9%
8.7%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMLehigh County10.2%Pennsylvania10.1%
10.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMLehigh County13.0%Pennsylvania13.8%
13.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMLehigh County10.5%Pennsylvania11.4%
10.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMLehigh County10.1%Pennsylvania10.9%
10.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMLehigh County5.4%Pennsylvania5.8%
5.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMLehigh County5.1%Pennsylvania6.1%
5.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMLehigh County2.8%Pennsylvania2.7%
2.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMLehigh County1.4%Pennsylvania1.4%
1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMLehigh County9.2%Pennsylvania7.6%
9.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMLehigh County8.8%Pennsylvania6.9%
8.8%
Lehigh CountyPennsylvaniaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Lehigh County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 13.8% across Pennsylvania. Early starts are about as common as in Pennsylvania: 14.7% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.4% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Pennsylvania: 43.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.2% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (27.4%) 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 Lehigh 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 Lehigh 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 Lehigh 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
Lehigh County
Pennsylvania
United States
2009
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:43 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:44 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:43 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
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:44 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:41 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Lehigh County were on the road by 7:40 AM, 2 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:42 AM). Pennsylvania followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in Lehigh County now leave 2 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 Lehigh County has moved 3 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Lehigh County in the whole series.
How does Lehigh County's commute time compare?
Metric
Lehigh County
Pennsylvania
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
21.5 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
14.0%
15.6%
15.0%
Walked
2.1%
3.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.4%
3.6%
3.2%
The average commute time in Lehigh County is 21.5 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Pennsylvania.
1.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.6% in Pennsylvania. 2.1% commute by walking, lower than the 3.2% in Pennsylvania.
Lehigh County, PA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Lehigh County, PA is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 378,708 residents against a local median of 318,250. The measure that sets Lehigh County, PA apart most is work from home: 14.0%, 18% above the local median of 11.9%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 21.5 min against a local median of 25.5 min, 16% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 16% below the local median it puts Lehigh County, PA at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 13.1% on work from home, so Lehigh County, PA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Lehigh County, PA has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
Is commuting expensive in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
Commuters here spend an estimated 179 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,548 at a typical national wage. That's 4% less than the typical Pennsylvania commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Lehigh 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.
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).