Pricing
Map Drive-Time Zone10-min drive time • PDF report

Pierce County Commute Time Map & Patterns

Help

Commuting in Pierce County, Washington: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 8:38 PM
How much time do drivers in Pierce County spend on the road daily?
Map AI 9/24/26, 8:38 PM

Commute Time Burden in Pierce County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Pierce County spend about 54 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 224 hours, about 9.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 20% more time on the road than the Washington average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 4.5 minutes.

Pierce County holds about 11.9% of Washington's population but accounts for roughly 14.3% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Pierce County would save about 90 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,775 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)
Pierce County 26.9 min 53.7 min 224 hrs/yr $6,937 2,240
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.

Commute Time Map: Washington Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in Washington
  1. Walla Walla County (12.2 min)
  2. San Juan County (12.3 min)
  3. Asotin County (13.2 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in Washington
  1. Mason County (32.0 min)
  2. Garfield County (28.4 min)
  3. Snohomish County (28.3 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Pierce County
Click a county to open it Explore the map →
Average commute time

On average, it takes 26.9 minutes to get to work in Pierce County. That's 20% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Among the 5 slowest counties in Washington

The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 13.9% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Pierce County

  • Car: 80.4%
  • Worked at Home: 13.9%
  • Walked: 2.2%
  • Public Transportation: 2.1%
  • Other: 0.9%
  • Bicycle: 0.3%
  • Motorcycle: 0.2%
  • Taxi: < 0.1%

Commute Mode Trends in Pierce County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Pierce 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 Public Transportation Other Bicycle Motorcycle Taxi
2009 87.2% 4.5% 3.3% 3.5% 0.8% 0.3% 0.3% 0.0%
2010 87.7% 4.3% 3.0% 3.4% 0.9% 0.3% 0.3% 0.0%
2011 87.7% 4.2% 2.9% 3.6% 0.9% 0.3% 0.4% 0.0%
2012 87.9% 4.2% 2.8% 3.4% 0.9% 0.3% 0.4% 0.0%
2013 88.1% 4.2% 2.7% 3.4% 0.9% 0.3% 0.3% 0.0%
2014 88.5% 4.1% 2.5% 3.4% 0.8% 0.4% 0.3% 0.0%
2015 88.5% 4.3% 2.3% 3.4% 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 0.0%
2016 88.6% 4.4% 2.3% 3.3% 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 0.0%
2017 88.4% 4.5% 2.2% 3.5% 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 0.0%
2018 88.1% 4.8% 2.0% 3.7% 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 0.0%
2019 87.8% 5.0% 2.0% 3.9% 0.7% 0.3% 0.3% 0.0%
2020 86.4% 6.4% 2.1% 3.7% 0.9% 0.3% 0.2% 0.0%
2021 84.4% 8.8% 2.0% 3.4% 0.9% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1%
2022 82.6% 10.9% 2.2% 2.9% 0.9% 0.3% 0.1% 0.1%
2023 81.6% 12.3% 2.3% 2.5% 0.8% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1%
2024 80.4% 13.9% 2.2% 2.1% 0.9% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2016 at 88.6%. Overall it fell from 87.2% in 2009 to 80.4% in 2024, down 6.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 8 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Pierce County: its share of workers rose from 4.5% in 2009 to 13.9% in 2024, up 9.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 8.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 3.5% to 2.1% of workers (down 1.4 percentage points).

Commute Start Times in Pierce County

  • Rush-Hour DodgersThe lowest share of rush-hour departures among Washington's 39 counties: only 38.3% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Pierce County?

The bars show when commuters in Pierce 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
9.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
5.8%
5:30-5:59 AM
7.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
10.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
9.6%
7:00-7:29 AM
11.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
9.0%
8:00-8:29 AM
8.3%
8:30-8:59 AM
4.3%
9:00-9:59 AM
6.0%
10:00-10:59 AM
2.8%
11:00-11:59 AM
1.6%
12:00-3:59 PM
7.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
6.7%

Pierce County Washington Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Pierce County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 11.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.4% across Washington. Early starts are more common than in Washington: 22.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.6% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Washington: 38.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.4%) 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 Pierce 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 Pierce 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County Washington United States
2009 7:20 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2010 7:20 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2011 7:20 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:21 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM
2013 7:23 AM 7:35 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:22 AM 7:35 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:21 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:20 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:19 AM 7:33 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:17 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:15 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:16 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:16 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:18 AM 7:33 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:19 AM 7:34 AM 7:38 AM
2024 7:20 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Pierce County were on the road by 7:20 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009. Across Washington, meanwhile, the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Pierce County now leave 18 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Pierce County has moved 4 minutes later.

How does Pierce County's commute time compare?

Metric Pierce County Washington US Average
Avg. Commute Time 26.9 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 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 13.9% 19.8% 15.0%
Walked 2.2% 3.0% 2.4%
Public Transit 2.1% 3.4% 3.2%

The average commute time in Pierce County is 26.9 minutes, longer than the 22.4 minutes in Washington.

2.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.4% in Washington. 2.2% commute by walking, lower than the 3.0% in Washington.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Pierce County, WA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Pierce County, WA is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 929,755 residents against a local median of 276,921. The measure that sets Pierce County, WA apart most is one-way commute: 26.9 min, 23% above the local median of 21.8 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.

The counties themselves spread 6.6 min on one-way commute, so Pierce County, WA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Pierce County, WA has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Pierce County, WA 929,755 26.9 min #6/6 13.9% #4/6 7:20 AM #2/6
Lewis County, WA 85,146 21.7 min 9.7% 7:21 AM
King County, WA 2,275,758 25.4 min 29.1% 8:00 AM
Thurston County, WA 299,046 22.1 min 20.5% 7:31 AM
Kitsap County, WA 276,921 21.8 min 16.0% 7:10 AM
Cowlitz County, WA 112,357 18.9 min 8.2% 7:21 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Pierce County, Washington.

Is living in Pierce County, Washington good for avoiding long commute costs?

Commuters here spend an estimated 224 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,937 at a typical national wage. That's 20% more than the typical Washington commuter spends.

When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Pierce County, Washington?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Pierce County, Washington. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:00 AM – 06:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Which counties in Washington have the fastest and slowest commutes?

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).