Commuting in Walworth County, South Dakota: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:03 PM
What does a typical morning commute look like in Walworth County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:03 PM
Commute Time Burden in Walworth County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Walworth County spend about 18 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 74 hours, about 3.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 42% less time on the road than the South Dakota average of 15.3 minutes each way, a difference of 6.4 minutes.
Walworth County holds about 0.6% of South Dakota's population but accounts for roughly 0.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Walworth County would save about 30 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $921 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)
Walworth County
8.9 min
17.8 min
74 hrs/yr
$2,303
113
South Dakota
15.3 min
30.7 min
128 hrs/yr
$3,961
353
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
8.9
minutes to get to work in
Walworth County.
That's 60% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 85% of counties in South Dakota
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 walking. About 6.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Walworth County
Car:
87.0%
Walked:
6.2%
Worked at Home:
6.0%
Public Transportation:
0.6%
Other:
0.2%
Bicycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Walworth County: 114090.1 times less than the South Dakota average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Walworth County, versus 0.1% in South Dakota.
Biking is unusually rare in Walworth County: 217924.5 times less than the South Dakota average (0.0% vs 0.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in Walworth County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Walworth 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
Walked
Worked at Home
Public Transportation
Other
Taxi
Motorcycle
Bicycle
2009
80.0%
8.8%
8.8%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2.2%
2010
80.8%
8.2%
9.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.2%
2011
83.5%
8.5%
7.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.7%
2012
83.4%
8.1%
6.6%
1.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
85.8%
5.9%
5.7%
2.0%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2014
87.3%
6.6%
4.1%
1.4%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
2015
86.6%
7.3%
3.6%
1.0%
1.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2016
87.1%
4.6%
3.8%
2.7%
1.1%
0.0%
0.5%
0.3%
2017
87.5%
5.0%
4.9%
1.1%
0.8%
0.0%
0.6%
0.2%
2018
87.4%
5.2%
4.9%
1.0%
1.0%
0.0%
0.5%
0.1%
2019
88.5%
4.4%
4.3%
1.0%
1.1%
0.0%
0.7%
0.0%
2020
88.9%
4.4%
3.9%
1.1%
0.9%
0.0%
0.8%
0.0%
2021
85.6%
7.1%
5.0%
0.7%
1.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
87.9%
5.0%
5.3%
0.5%
1.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
86.6%
6.2%
5.9%
0.3%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
87.0%
6.2%
6.0%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2020 at 88.9%. Overall it rose from 80.0% in 2009 to 87.0% in 2024, up 7.0 percentage points.
Public transit gained the most ground in Walworth County: its share of workers rose from 0.0% in 2009 to 0.6% in 2024, up 0.6 percentage points.
Working from home lost the most ground, falling from 8.8% to 6.0% of workers (down 2.8 percentage points).
Public transit overtook biking to become the 4th most common choice in the 2012 release and has stayed ahead since.
Public transit peaked at 2.7% in 2016 and has since fallen back to 0.6%.
Commute Start Times in Walworth County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Walworth County?
The bars show when commuters in Walworth 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 Dakota for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMWalworth County3.2%South Dakota4.1%
3.2%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMWalworth County1.1%South Dakota3.1%
1.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMWalworth County4.5%South Dakota5.1%
4.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMWalworth County3.6%South Dakota6.9%
3.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMWalworth County8.2%South Dakota11.3%
8.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMWalworth County18.6%South Dakota16.2%
18.6%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMWalworth County25.6%South Dakota19.9%
25.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMWalworth County16.3%South Dakota10.2%
16.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMWalworth County2.1%South Dakota3.7%
2.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMWalworth County4.2%South Dakota4.3%
4.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMWalworth County2.1%South Dakota2.0%
2.1%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMWalworth County3.8%South Dakota1.4%
3.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMWalworth County2.2%South Dakota6.1%
2.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMWalworth County4.5%South Dakota5.8%
4.5%
Walworth CountySouth DakotaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Walworth County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 25.6% of commuters leave home, compared with 19.9% across South Dakota. Early starts are less common than in South Dakota: 8.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.2% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in South Dakota: 68.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 57.7% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (16.8%) 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 Walworth 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 Walworth 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 Walworth County next to South Dakota 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
Walworth County
South Dakota
United States
2009
7:56 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:55 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:52 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:45 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:41 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:40 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:42 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:45 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:48 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:45 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:38 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:43 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Walworth County were on the road by 7:43 AM, 14 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:56 AM). The shift is sharper than across South Dakota, where the typical start moved 5 minutes earlier. Commuters in Walworth County now leave 5 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 Walworth County has moved 3 minutes earlier.
How does Walworth County's commute time compare?
Metric
Walworth County
South Dakota
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
8.9 min
15.3 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
6.0%
9.7%
15.0%
Walked
6.2%
3.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.6%
0.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Walworth County is 8.9 minutes, shorter than the 15.3 minutes in South Dakota.
0.6% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.5% in South Dakota. 6.2% commute by walking, higher than the 3.1% in South Dakota.
Walworth County, SD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Walworth County, SD is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 5,271 residents against a local median of 2,145. The measure that sets Walworth County, SD apart most is work from home: 6.0%, 55% below the local median of 13.4%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 8.9 min against a local median of 10.8 min, 18% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 18% below the local median it puts Walworth County, SD at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 19.1% on work from home, so Walworth County, SD sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Walworth County, SD has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Walworth County, South Dakota.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Walworth County, South Dakota?
Commuters here spend an estimated 74 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,303 at a typical national wage. That's 42% less than the typical South Dakota commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Walworth County, South Dakota?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Walworth County, South Dakota. 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.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in South Dakota?
Among counties in South Dakota, the shortest average commutes are in Jones County (6.7 min), Bennett County (7.5 min), Jackson County (7.8 min). The longest are in Custer County (25.5 min), McCook County (25.4 min), Turner County (23.1 min).