Commuting in Knox County, Tennessee: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 2:29 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Knox County?
Map AI9/24/26, 2:29 PM
Commute Time Burden in Knox County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Knox 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 178 hours, about 7.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 5% less time on the road than the Tennessee average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 1.1 minutes.
Knox County holds about 7.0% of Tennessee's population but accounts for roughly 6.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Knox County would save about 71 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,204 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)
Knox County
21.3 min
42.7 min
178 hrs/yr
$5,510
2,103
Tennessee
22.4 min
44.8 min
187 hrs/yr
$5,785
1,225
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
21.3
minutes to get to work in
Knox County.
That's 5% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 76% of counties in Tennessee
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 working from home. About 14.4% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Knox County
Car:
82.5%
Worked at Home:
14.4%
Walked:
1.6%
Other:
0.7%
Public Transportation:
0.5%
Taxi:
0.2%
Bicycle:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Knox County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Knox 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
92.8%
3.5%
1.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2010
92.7%
3.7%
1.6%
0.6%
0.8%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2011
93.1%
3.7%
1.5%
0.6%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2012
92.8%
4.0%
1.4%
0.7%
0.7%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2013
92.7%
4.1%
1.4%
0.5%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2014
92.7%
4.2%
1.4%
0.5%
0.9%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2015
92.7%
4.1%
1.4%
0.6%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2016
92.0%
4.6%
1.6%
0.6%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
0.1%
2017
91.5%
4.9%
1.8%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2018
91.1%
5.2%
1.9%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
2019
90.7%
5.6%
2.0%
0.6%
0.8%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2020
88.8%
7.7%
1.9%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2021
87.3%
9.3%
1.8%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
85.8%
10.9%
1.7%
0.6%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2023
84.1%
12.7%
1.7%
0.7%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
82.5%
14.4%
1.6%
0.7%
0.5%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2011 at 93.1%. Overall it fell from 92.8% in 2009 to 82.5% in 2024, down 10.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 9 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Knox County: its share of workers rose from 3.5% in 2009 to 14.4% in 2024, up 10.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 8.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Knox County
🦉Night OwlThe latest start among Tennessee's 95 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:51 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Knox County?
The bars show when commuters in Knox 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 Tennessee for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMKnox County3.9%Tennessee5.8%
3.9%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMKnox County2.6%Tennessee4.4%
2.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMKnox County3.4%Tennessee5.5%
3.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMKnox County7.2%Tennessee9.9%
7.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMKnox County8.6%Tennessee10.1%
8.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMKnox County14.0%Tennessee14.7%
14.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMKnox County14.4%Tennessee11.5%
14.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMKnox County13.2%Tennessee10.1%
13.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMKnox County7.0%Tennessee4.5%
7.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMKnox County8.0%Tennessee5.7%
8.0%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMKnox County3.2%Tennessee2.5%
3.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMKnox County1.5%Tennessee1.2%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMKnox County6.5%Tennessee6.8%
6.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMKnox County6.5%Tennessee7.4%
6.5%
Knox CountyTennesseeSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Knox County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 14.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.5% across Tennessee. Early starts are less common than in Tennessee: 9.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.7% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Tennessee: 50.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.4% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (25.8%) 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 Knox 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 Knox 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 Knox County next to Tennessee 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
Knox County
Tennessee
United States
2009
7:46 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:46 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:46 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:46 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:47 AM
7:30 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:48 AM
7:30 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:48 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:48 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:49 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:49 AM
7:29 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:49 AM
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:50 AM
7:29 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:50 AM
7:29 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:50 AM
7:29 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:52 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:52 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Knox County were on the road by 7:52 AM, 5 minutes later than in 2009 (7:46 AM). Across Tennessee, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Knox County now leave 14 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 Knox County has moved 2 minutes later.
How does Knox County's commute time compare?
Metric
Knox County
Tennessee
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
21.3 min
22.4 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
14.4%
12.9%
15.0%
Walked
1.6%
1.2%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.5%
0.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in Knox County is 21.3 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Tennessee.
0.5% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.4% in Tennessee. 1.6% commute by walking, higher than the 1.2% in Tennessee.
Knox County, TN Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Knox County, TN is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 494,148 residents against a local median of 58,580. Where Knox County, TN breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 19% above the local median of 12.0% at 14.4%.
The counties themselves spread 4.3% on work from home, so Knox County, TN sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Knox County, TN has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Knox County, Tennessee.
Is living in Knox County, Tennessee good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 178 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,510 at a typical national wage. That's 5% less than the typical Tennessee commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Knox County, Tennessee?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Knox County, Tennessee. 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 Tennessee?
Among counties in Tennessee, the shortest average commutes are in Dyer County (15.9 min), Henry County (16.7 min), Obion County (17.1 min). The longest are in Cannon County (33.3 min), Union County (33.2 min), Fayette County (33.1 min).