Commuting in York County, South Carolina: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:38 PM
Is the commute in York County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:38 PM
Commute Time Burden in York County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in York County spend about 47 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 195 hours, about 8.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 5% more time on the road than the South Carolina average of 22.3 minutes each way, a difference of 1.1 minutes.
York County holds about 5.5% of South Carolina's population but accounts for roughly 5.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in York County would save about 78 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,416 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)
York County
23.4 min
46.8 min
195 hrs/yr
$6,040
1,630
South Carolina
22.3 min
44.5 min
186 hrs/yr
$5,753
1,499
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
23.4
minutes to get to work in
York County.
That's 4% longer 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 17.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in York County
Car:
79.6%
Worked at Home:
17.5%
Walked:
1.3%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.3%
Taxi:
0.2%
Bicycle:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in York County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in York 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
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
93.3%
4.0%
1.4%
0.5%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2010
92.6%
4.7%
1.4%
0.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2011
92.0%
4.8%
1.6%
0.5%
0.6%
0.1%
0.3%
0.2%
2012
92.4%
4.7%
1.4%
0.6%
0.5%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2013
92.3%
5.0%
1.2%
0.6%
0.4%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2014
92.4%
4.8%
1.1%
0.8%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2015
92.7%
4.7%
1.0%
0.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2016
93.1%
4.7%
0.9%
0.6%
0.4%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
2017
93.0%
4.9%
1.0%
0.5%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2018
92.6%
5.3%
1.0%
0.6%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2019
91.8%
5.8%
1.2%
0.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2020
89.1%
8.3%
1.2%
0.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2021
86.1%
11.1%
1.4%
0.7%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2022
83.5%
13.3%
1.5%
1.0%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
81.9%
15.1%
1.3%
0.9%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
79.6%
17.5%
1.3%
0.9%
0.3%
0.2%
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 93.3% in 2009 to 79.6% in 2024, down 13.7 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 8 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in York County: its share of workers rose from 4.0% in 2009 to 17.5% in 2024, up 13.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 11.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in York County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in York County?
The bars show when commuters in York 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 South Carolina for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMYork County4.5%South Carolina5.0%
4.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMYork County3.8%South Carolina3.7%
3.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMYork County4.5%South Carolina4.6%
4.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMYork County9.6%South Carolina9.1%
9.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMYork County11.0%South Carolina10.5%
11.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMYork County15.7%South Carolina15.3%
15.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMYork County11.9%South Carolina12.6%
11.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMYork County11.8%South Carolina11.1%
11.8%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMYork County5.2%South Carolina5.2%
5.2%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMYork County6.1%South Carolina6.1%
6.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMYork County2.6%South Carolina2.7%
2.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMYork County1.0%South Carolina1.2%
1.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMYork County6.4%South Carolina6.3%
6.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMYork County5.9%South Carolina6.6%
5.9%
York CountySouth CarolinaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in York County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 15.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across South Carolina. Early starts are about as common as in South Carolina: 12.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 13.2% there. The morning rush looks much like South Carolina's: 50.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.6% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (22.0%) 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 York 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 York 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 York County next to South Carolina 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
York County
South Carolina
United States
2009
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:30 AM
7:36 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:28 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:27 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:28 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:28 AM
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:30 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:33 AM
7:34 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:32 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:32 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in York County were on the road by 7:32 AM, 4 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:36 AM). South Carolina followed the same path, with the typical start moving 2 minutes earlier. Commuters in York County now leave 6 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 York County has moved 5 minutes later.
How does York County's commute time compare?
Metric
York County
South Carolina
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
23.4 min
22.3 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
17.5%
11.5%
15.0%
Walked
1.3%
1.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
0.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in York County is 23.4 minutes, longer than the 22.3 minutes in South Carolina.
0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.4% in South Carolina. 1.3% commute by walking, lower than the 1.6% in South Carolina.
York County, SC Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
York County, SC is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 293,716 residents against a local median of 92,729. The measure that sets York County, SC apart most is work from home: 17.5%, 41% above the local median of 12.4%.
The counties themselves spread 23.5% on work from home, so York County, SC sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. York County, SC has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in York County, South Carolina.
Is commuting expensive in York County, South Carolina?
Commuters here spend an estimated 195 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,040 at a typical national wage. That's 5% more than the typical South Carolina commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in York County, South Carolina?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in York County, South Carolina. 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 much money can remote workers save in York County, South Carolina?
About 17.5% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in York County would save about 78 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,416 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Which counties in South Carolina have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in South Carolina, the shortest average commutes are in Greenwood County (16.5 min), Sumter County (18.2 min), Florence County (18.3 min). The longest are in McCormick County (33.9 min), Fairfield County (30.8 min), Chester County (30.6 min).