Northampton County Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Northampton County, Virginia: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Northampton County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Northampton County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 153 hours, about 6.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 21% less time on the road than the Virginia average of 23.2 minutes each way, a difference of 4.8 minutes.
Northampton County holds about 0.1% of Virginia's population and accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Northampton County would save about 61 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,902 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton County | 18.4 min | 36.8 min | 153 hrs/yr | $4,754 | 516 |
| Virginia | 23.2 min | 46.3 min | 193 hrs/yr | $5,986 | 1,531 |
| 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.
Commute Time Map: Virginia Counties
- Lexington city (10.6 min)
- Covington city (12.2 min)
- Norton city (13.1 min)
- Amelia County (43.7 min)
- Craig County (41.3 min)
- Buckingham County (41.3 min)
Compare commute times among different counties
On average, it takes 18.4 minutes to get to work in Northampton County. That's 18% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 83% of counties in Virginia
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 10.1% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Northampton County
- Car: 85.1%
- Worked at Home: 10.1%
- Walked: 2.9%
- Other: 1.3%
- Public Transportation: 0.5% unusually low
- Motorcycle: 0.2%
- Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
- Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Northampton County: 4.4 times less than the Virginia average (0.5% vs 2.3%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Northampton County, versus 0.2% in Virginia.
Biking is essentially absent in Northampton County, versus 0.3% in Virginia.
Commute Mode Trends in Northampton County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Northampton 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Other | Public Transportation | Motorcycle | Taxi | Bicycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 91.4% | 4.7% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 91.3% | 4.8% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 87.8% | 6.7% | 3.6% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 88.4% | 6.3% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 88.9% | 5.4% | 4.1% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2014 | 86.8% | 7.1% | 3.7% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| 2015 | 88.3% | 5.6% | 3.7% | 0.4% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| 2016 | 89.3% | 5.5% | 2.6% | 0.5% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| 2017 | 88.4% | 6.5% | 3.1% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| 2018 | 86.6% | 8.7% | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2019 | 87.2% | 8.7% | 2.6% | 0.1% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 86.0% | 10.9% | 1.9% | 0.1% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 86.8% | 10.8% | 1.9% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 85.4% | 11.6% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 85.7% | 10.8% | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 85.1% | 10.1% | 2.9% | 1.3% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 91.4% in 2009 to 85.1% in 2024, down 6.3 percentage points. It has fallen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Northampton County: its share of workers rose from 4.7% in 2009 to 10.1% in 2024, up 5.4 percentage points.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 1.3% to 0.5% of workers (down 0.8 percentage points).
Working from home peaked at 11.6% in 2022 and has since fallen back to 10.1%.
Commute Start Times in Northampton County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Northampton County?
The bars show when commuters in Northampton 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 Virginia for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Northampton County2.4%
Virginia5.0%
|
2.4% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Northampton County5.2%
Virginia4.0%
|
5.2% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Northampton County6.6%
Virginia5.0%
|
6.6% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Northampton County5.0%
Virginia8.7%
|
5.0% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Northampton County10.2%
Virginia9.2%
|
10.2% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Northampton County16.1%
Virginia14.2%
|
16.1% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Northampton County14.6%
Virginia12.1%
|
14.6% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Northampton County11.5%
Virginia12.1%
|
11.5% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Northampton County5.3%
Virginia6.4%
|
5.3% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Northampton County8.0%
Virginia7.2%
|
8.0% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Northampton County2.0%
Virginia3.0%
|
2.0% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Northampton County2.8%
Virginia1.4%
|
2.8% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Northampton County5.4%
Virginia6.0%
|
5.4% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Northampton County4.9%
Virginia5.7%
|
4.9% |
Northampton County Virginia Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Northampton County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 16.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.2% across Virginia. Early starts are about as common as in Virginia: 14.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.0% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Virginia: 52.5% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 47.5% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.1%) 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 Northampton 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 Northampton 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 Northampton County next to Virginia 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Northampton County | Virginia | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:37 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:43 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:48 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:49 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:54 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:51 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:44 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:38 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:40 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:31 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:32 AM | 7:38 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:42 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:47 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:39 AM | 7:40 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Northampton County were on the road by 7:39 AM, 13 minutes later than in 2009 (7:26 AM). The shift is sharper than across Virginia, where the typical start moved 3 minutes later. Commuters in Northampton County now leave 1 minute later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Northampton County's commute time compare?
| Metric | Northampton County | Virginia | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 18.4 min | 23.2 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 | 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 10.1% | 18.3% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 2.9% | 2.1% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 0.5% | 2.3% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Northampton County is 18.4 minutes, shorter than the 23.2 minutes in Virginia.
0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 2.3% in Virginia. 2.9% commute by walking, higher than the 2.1% in Virginia.
Northampton County, VA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
How Northampton County, VA compares with the 2 counties closest to it.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton County, VA | 12,059 | 18.4 min #2/3 | 10.1% #2/3 | 7:39 AM #3/3 |
| Mathews County, VA | 8,540 | 27.2 min | 17.6% | 7:38 AM |
| Accomack County, VA | 33,335 | 17.8 min | 8.1% | 7:27 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Northampton County, Virginia.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Northampton County, Virginia?
Commuters here spend an estimated 153 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,754 at a typical national wage. That's 21% less than the typical Virginia commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Northampton County, Virginia?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Northampton County, Virginia. 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.
Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Northampton County, Virginia?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.5% of commuters use it versus 2.3% in Virginia, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Virginia?
Among counties in Virginia, the shortest average commutes are in Lexington city (10.6 min), Covington city (12.2 min), Norton city (13.1 min). The longest are in Amelia County (43.7 min), Craig County (41.3 min), Buckingham County (41.3 min).