Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 4:20 PM

Is the commute in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) longer than the national average?

Map AI 9/24/26, 4:20 PM

Commute Time Burden in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance): Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 188 hours, about 7.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 1% more time on the road than the Tennessee average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 0.2 minutes.

Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) holds about 9.7% of Tennessee's population but accounts for roughly 9.8% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,334 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)
Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)	22.6 min	45.2 min	188 hrs/yr	$5,835	2,715
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.

Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) Commute Map

On average, it takes 22.6 minutes to get to work in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance). That's 1% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 20.4% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)

Public transit is unusually common in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance): 3.4 times more than the Tennessee average (1.4% vs 0.4%).

Biking is unusually common in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance): 3.1 times more than the Tennessee average (0.3% vs 0.1%).

Commute Mode Trends in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) 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	Bicycle	Taxi	Motorcycle
2009	90.6%	4.1%	1.8%	2.0%	1.0%	0.2%	0.1%	0.2%
2010	90.4%	4.2%	1.8%	2.0%	0.9%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2011	89.9%	4.6%	1.8%	2.3%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2012	90.0%	4.5%	1.9%	2.2%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2013	90.1%	4.5%	1.9%	2.2%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2014	89.8%	4.7%	1.9%	2.2%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2015	89.9%	4.6%	2.0%	2.4%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%
2016	89.5%	5.0%	2.1%	2.2%	0.8%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
2017	89.0%	5.6%	2.1%	2.2%	0.7%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
2018	88.7%	5.8%	2.3%	2.2%	0.7%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
2019	87.8%	6.4%	2.4%	2.1%	0.8%	0.2%	0.3%	0.1%
2020	84.5%	9.9%	2.3%	1.9%	0.8%	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%
2021	81.9%	12.7%	2.2%	1.7%	0.9%	0.2%	0.3%	0.1%
2022	79.0%	15.5%	2.1%	1.6%	1.0%	0.3%	0.3%	0.1%
2023	76.4%	18.3%	1.9%	1.6%	1.1%	0.3%	0.3%	0.0%
2024	74.6%	20.4%	1.8%	1.4%	1.1%	0.3%	0.2%	0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 90.6% in 2009 to 74.6% in 2024, down 16.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 9 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance): its share of workers rose from 4.1% in 2009 to 20.4% in 2024, up 16.3 percentage points. Most of that increase, 14.0 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.0% to 1.4% of workers (down 0.6 percentage points).

Commute Start Times in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)?

The bars show when commuters in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) 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		3.9%
5:00-5:29 AM		4.0%
5:30-5:59 AM		4.0%
6:00-6:29 AM		10.1%
6:30-6:59 AM		8.7%
7:00-7:29 AM		14.5%
7:30-7:59 AM		10.0%
8:00-8:29 AM		12.4%
8:30-8:59 AM		6.7%
9:00-9:59 AM		7.7%
10:00-10:59 AM		3.5%
11:00-11:59 AM		1.4%
12:00-3:59 PM		6.5%
4:00-11:59 PM		6.5%

Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) Tennessee Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.7% across Tennessee. Early starts are less common than in Tennessee: 11.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 15.7% there. The morning rush looks much like Tennessee's: 45.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.4% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (25.6%) 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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), 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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) 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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) 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	Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)	Tennessee	United States
2009	7:37 AM	7:30 AM	7:37 AM
2010	7:38 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2011	7:38 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2012	7:38 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2013	7:38 AM	7:30 AM	7:39 AM
2014	7:37 AM	7:30 AM	7:39 AM
2015	7:36 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2016	7:36 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2017	7:34 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2018	7:35 AM	7:29 AM	7:37 AM
2019	7:38 AM	7:28 AM	7:37 AM
2020	7:39 AM	7:29 AM	7:37 AM
2021	7:41 AM	7:29 AM	7:37 AM
2022	7:44 AM	7:29 AM	7:37 AM
2023	7:42 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2024	7:44 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) were on the road by 7:44 AM, 7 minutes later than in 2009 (7:37 AM). Across Tennessee, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) now leave 6 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 Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) has moved 7 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) in the whole series.

How does Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)'s commute time compare?

Metric	Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)	Tennessee	US Average
Avg. Commute Time	22.6 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	08:00 AM – 08:29 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home	20.4%	12.9%	15.0%
Walked	1.8%	1.2%	2.4%
Public Transit	1.4%	0.4%	3.2%

The average commute time in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) is 22.6 minutes, longer than the 22.4 minutes in Tennessee.

1.4% commute by public transit, higher than the 0.4% in Tennessee. 1.8% commute by walking, higher than the 1.2% in Tennessee.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), TN Commute Compared With Nearby Cities

How Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), TN compares with the 1 cities closest to it.

Area	Population	One-way commute	Work from home	Typical departure
Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), TN	685,455	22.6 min #1/2	20.4% #2/2	7:44 AM #1/2
Brentwood, TN	44,549	23.1 min	30.0%	7:51 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee.

Is commuting expensive in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee?

Commuters here spend an estimated 188 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,835 at a typical national wage. That's 1% more than the typical Tennessee commuter spends.

What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee?

Public transit usage is notably higher here than typical: about 1.4% of commuters use it versus 0.4% in Tennessee, making it a realistic option for many workers.

How much money can remote workers save in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee?

About 20.4% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance) would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,334 at the same national wage assumption used above.