Commuting in Kittitas County, Washington: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:11 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Kittitas County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:11 PM
Commute Time Burden in Kittitas County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Kittitas County spend about 27 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 114 hours, about 4.7 full days, spent commuting. That is 39% less time on the road than the Washington average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 8.7 minutes.
Kittitas County holds about 0.6% of Washington's population but accounts for roughly 0.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Kittitas County would save about 45 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,410 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)
Kittitas County
13.6 min
27.3 min
114 hrs/yr
$3,525
728
Washington
22.4 min
44.8 min
187 hrs/yr
$5,785
1,525
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
13.6
minutes to get to work in
Kittitas County.
That's 39% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 87% of counties in Washington
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 13.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Kittitas County
Car:
78.0%
Worked at Home:
13.8%
Walked:
5.4%
Bicycle:
1.2%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.5%unusually low
Taxi:
0.2%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Kittitas County: 12.2 times less than the Washington average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Public transit is unusually rare in Kittitas County: 7.2 times less than the Washington average (0.5% vs 3.4%).
Commute Mode Trends in Kittitas County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Kittitas 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
Bicycle
Other
Public Transportation
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
81.6%
4.1%
10.3%
2.5%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
2010
81.4%
4.3%
9.5%
3.2%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.4%
2011
79.8%
5.7%
9.2%
3.4%
0.7%
0.7%
0.2%
0.4%
2012
80.7%
5.2%
8.3%
3.9%
0.5%
1.0%
0.2%
0.2%
2013
81.6%
5.4%
8.2%
3.0%
0.5%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
2014
80.9%
6.2%
8.3%
2.9%
0.6%
0.8%
0.0%
0.4%
2015
80.9%
5.4%
9.2%
2.5%
0.9%
0.8%
0.0%
0.3%
2016
83.0%
4.2%
9.3%
1.5%
0.8%
0.7%
0.0%
0.4%
2017
81.8%
5.1%
9.7%
1.0%
1.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.3%
2018
81.9%
4.5%
9.4%
1.0%
1.3%
1.6%
0.0%
0.3%
2019
81.7%
4.7%
10.0%
0.5%
1.2%
1.6%
0.0%
0.3%
2020
80.7%
6.5%
9.5%
0.8%
0.7%
1.4%
0.0%
0.4%
2021
78.4%
10.5%
7.4%
0.5%
1.4%
1.5%
0.1%
0.2%
2022
79.4%
11.5%
5.8%
0.8%
1.1%
0.8%
0.1%
0.4%
2023
78.3%
13.2%
5.8%
0.9%
0.9%
0.4%
0.1%
0.3%
2024
78.0%
13.8%
5.4%
1.2%
0.9%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2016 at 83.0%. Overall it fell from 81.6% in 2009 to 78.0% in 2024, down 3.6 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Kittitas County: its share of workers rose from 4.1% in 2009 to 13.8% in 2024, up 9.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 10.3% to 5.4% of workers (down 4.9 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.
Biking peaked at 3.9% in 2012 and has since fallen back to 1.2%.
Commute Start Times in Kittitas County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Kittitas County?
The bars show when commuters in Kittitas 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 Washington for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMKittitas County5.5%Washington7.1%
5.5%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMKittitas County2.7%Washington4.7%
2.7%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMKittitas County5.4%Washington5.8%
5.4%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMKittitas County6.9%Washington8.6%
6.9%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMKittitas County8.3%Washington9.5%
8.3%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMKittitas County14.0%Washington12.4%
14.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMKittitas County17.4%Washington11.0%
17.4%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMKittitas County9.5%Washington10.2%
9.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMKittitas County6.3%Washington5.5%
6.3%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMKittitas County6.7%Washington7.5%
6.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMKittitas County4.3%Washington3.5%
4.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMKittitas County1.6%Washington1.7%
1.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMKittitas County7.7%Washington6.9%
7.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMKittitas County3.6%Washington5.6%
3.6%
Kittitas CountyWashingtonSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Kittitas County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 17.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.0% across Washington. Early starts are less common than in Washington: 13.6% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.6% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Washington: 49.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.9%) 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 Kittitas 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 Kittitas 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 Kittitas County next to Washington 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
Kittitas County
Washington
United States
2009
7:50 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:48 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:48 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:48 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:48 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:44 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:42 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:44 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:44 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:44 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:45 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:47 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:45 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:48 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:42 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:42 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Kittitas County were on the road by 7:42 AM, 7 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:50 AM). That goes against the trend across Washington, where the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Kittitas County now leave 4 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 Kittitas County has moved 3 minutes earlier.
How does Kittitas County's commute time compare?
Metric
Kittitas County
Washington
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
13.6 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
13.8%
19.8%
15.0%
Walked
5.4%
3.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.5%
3.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in Kittitas County is 13.6 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Washington.
0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.4% in Washington. 5.4% commute by walking, higher than the 3.0% in Washington.
Kittitas County, WA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Kittitas County, WA is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 47,168 residents against a local median of 101,798. The measure that sets Kittitas County, WA apart most is work from home: 13.8%, 44% above the local median of 9.6%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 13.6 min against a local median of 16.8 min, 19% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 19% below the local median it puts Kittitas County, WA at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 21.8% on work from home, so Kittitas County, WA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Kittitas County, WA has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Kittitas County, Washington.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Kittitas County, Washington?
Commuters here spend an estimated 114 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,525 at a typical national wage. That's 39% less than the typical Washington commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Kittitas County, Washington?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Kittitas County, Washington. 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.
How common is public transit use in Kittitas County, Washington?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.5% of commuters use it versus 3.4% in Washington, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
How do commute times compare across counties in Washington?
Among counties in Washington, the shortest average commutes are in Walla Walla County (12.2 min), San Juan County (12.3 min), Asotin County (13.2 min). The longest are in Mason County (32.0 min), Garfield County (28.4 min), Snohomish County (28.3 min).