Commuting in Denton County, Texas: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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How much time do drivers in Denton County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:26 PM
Commute Time Burden in Denton County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Denton County spend about 52 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 217 hours, about 9.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 14% more time on the road than the Texas average of 22.8 minutes each way, a difference of 3.3 minutes.
Denton County holds about 3.2% of Texas's population but accounts for roughly 3.7% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Denton County would save about 87 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,695 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)
Denton County
26.1 min
52.2 min
217 hrs/yr
$6,737
3,228
Texas
22.8 min
45.6 min
190 hrs/yr
$5,888
1,441
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
26.1
minutes to get to work in
Denton County.
That's 16% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 82% of counties in Texas
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 23.5% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Denton County
Car:
73.3%
Worked at Home:
23.5%
Other:
1.3%
Walked:
1.2%
Public Transportation:
0.3%
Taxi:
0.2%
Bicycle:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Denton County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Denton 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
Other
Walked
Public Transportation
Taxi
Bicycle
Motorcycle
2009
91.6%
4.8%
0.7%
1.5%
0.6%
0.0%
0.5%
0.2%
2010
91.3%
5.3%
0.8%
1.4%
0.6%
0.1%
0.4%
0.2%
2011
91.4%
5.5%
0.7%
1.2%
0.6%
0.0%
0.4%
0.2%
2012
90.9%
5.8%
0.7%
1.3%
0.7%
0.0%
0.4%
0.2%
2013
90.6%
6.1%
0.7%
1.3%
0.9%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2014
90.4%
6.2%
0.7%
1.2%
0.9%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2015
90.2%
6.2%
0.8%
1.2%
1.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2016
89.6%
6.7%
0.9%
1.3%
1.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2017
89.4%
7.1%
0.8%
1.3%
0.9%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2018
89.2%
7.2%
0.9%
1.3%
0.9%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2019
88.8%
7.8%
0.9%
1.3%
0.8%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2020
85.2%
11.4%
1.1%
1.2%
0.7%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2021
81.7%
15.0%
1.1%
1.2%
0.6%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2022
78.3%
18.3%
1.2%
1.2%
0.5%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
2023
75.8%
20.9%
1.3%
1.1%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.1%
2024
73.3%
23.5%
1.3%
1.2%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 91.6% in 2009 to 73.3% in 2024, down 18.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 13 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Denton County: its share of workers rose from 4.8% in 2009 to 23.5% in 2024, up 18.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 15.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Commute Start Times in Denton County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Denton County?
The bars show when commuters in Denton 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 Texas for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMDenton County4.6%Texas5.5%
4.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMDenton County2.9%Texas4.4%
2.9%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMDenton County4.5%Texas5.1%
4.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMDenton County8.3%Texas9.3%
8.3%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMDenton County10.0%Texas9.3%
10.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMDenton County14.7%Texas15.3%
14.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMDenton County12.0%Texas11.8%
12.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMDenton County13.3%Texas11.5%
13.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMDenton County5.7%Texas4.8%
5.7%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMDenton County7.6%Texas6.7%
7.6%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMDenton County3.8%Texas3.1%
3.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMDenton County1.6%Texas1.3%
1.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMDenton County5.5%Texas5.8%
5.5%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMDenton County5.6%Texas6.2%
5.6%
Denton CountyTexasSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Denton County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 15.3% across Texas. Early starts are less common than in Texas: 12.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.9% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Texas: 50.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.9% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.0%) 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 Denton 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 Denton 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 Denton County next to Texas 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
Denton County
Texas
United States
2009
7:40 AM
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:40 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:39 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:39 AM
7:32 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:39 AM
7:32 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:39 AM
7:32 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:38 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:37 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:36 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:36 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:38 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:41 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:41 AM
7:31 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:42 AM
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:43 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:43 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Denton County were on the road by 7:43 AM, 2 minutes later than in 2009 (7:40 AM). Texas followed the same path, with the typical start moving 1 minute later. Commuters in Denton 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 Denton County has moved 5 minutes later.
How does Denton County's commute time compare?
Metric
Denton County
Texas
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
26.1 min
22.8 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
23.5%
14.4%
15.0%
Walked
1.2%
1.5%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
0.9%
3.2%
The average commute time in Denton County is 26.1 minutes, longer than the 22.8 minutes in Texas.
0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.9% in Texas. 1.2% commute by walking, lower than the 1.5% in Texas.
Denton County, TX Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Denton County, TX is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 979,063 residents against a local median of 1,163,170. Denton County, TX's work from home, at 23.5%, runs 58% above the 14.8% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 20.3% on work from home, so Denton County, TX sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Denton County, TX has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Denton County, Texas.
Is commuting expensive in Denton County, Texas?
Commuters here spend an estimated 217 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,737 at a typical national wage. That's 14% more than the typical Texas commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Denton County, Texas?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Denton County, Texas. 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.
How much time do residents in Denton County, Texas save by working from home?
About 23.5% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Denton County would save about 87 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,695 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among counties in Texas?
Among counties in Texas, the shortest average commutes are in Loving County (3.3 min), King County (5.8 min), Terrell County (6.5 min). The longest are in Bandera County (38.6 min), San Jacinto County (35.9 min), Liberty County (33.6 min).