Commuting in Whatcom 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, 8:19 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Whatcom County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:19 PM
Commute Time Burden in Whatcom County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Whatcom County spend about 36 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 149 hours, about 6.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 20% less time on the road than the Washington average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 4.5 minutes.
Whatcom County holds about 3.0% of Washington's population but accounts for roughly 2.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Whatcom County would save about 60 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,848 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)
Whatcom County
17.9 min
35.8 min
149 hrs/yr
$4,619
954
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
17.9
minutes to get to work in
Whatcom County.
That's 20% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 14.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Whatcom County
Car:
76.7%
Worked at Home:
14.8%
Walked:
3.9%
Public Transportation:
1.8%
Bicycle:
1.8%
Other:
1.0%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Whatcom County: 3.5 times less than the Washington average (0.0% vs 0.2%).
Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Whatcom County: 11.6 times less than the Washington average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Commute Mode Trends in Whatcom County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Whatcom 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
Bicycle
Other
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
83.0%
6.1%
4.5%
2.9%
2.4%
0.6%
0.0%
0.5%
2010
83.0%
6.1%
4.5%
2.8%
2.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.5%
2011
82.6%
6.0%
5.0%
3.0%
2.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.4%
2012
82.8%
6.1%
4.7%
3.0%
2.0%
0.8%
0.0%
0.5%
2013
82.7%
6.4%
4.7%
3.1%
1.7%
0.9%
0.0%
0.4%
2014
83.1%
6.3%
4.8%
2.8%
1.7%
0.9%
0.0%
0.3%
2015
82.9%
6.4%
5.0%
2.8%
1.7%
0.9%
0.0%
0.3%
2016
83.5%
6.0%
4.8%
2.9%
1.5%
0.9%
0.0%
0.4%
2017
84.4%
5.9%
4.5%
2.5%
1.6%
0.8%
0.0%
0.3%
2018
85.1%
5.8%
4.1%
2.3%
1.7%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
2019
84.9%
6.1%
3.7%
2.5%
1.8%
0.8%
0.0%
0.3%
2020
83.8%
7.0%
3.7%
2.4%
2.2%
0.7%
0.0%
0.2%
2021
82.5%
9.0%
3.4%
1.9%
2.2%
0.9%
0.0%
0.1%
2022
80.1%
11.3%
3.5%
2.0%
2.0%
0.9%
0.0%
0.1%
2023
78.3%
13.3%
3.4%
1.9%
1.9%
1.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2024
76.7%
14.8%
3.9%
1.8%
1.8%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2018 at 85.1%. Overall it fell from 83.0% in 2009 to 76.7% in 2024, down 6.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Whatcom County: its share of workers rose from 6.1% in 2009 to 14.8% in 2024, up 8.7 percentage points. Most of that increase, 8.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.9% to 1.8% of workers (down 1.1 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Whatcom County
😴Sleeping InThe 3rd-highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Washington's 39 counties: 27.7% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Whatcom County?
The bars show when commuters in Whatcom 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 AMWhatcom County4.8%Washington7.1%
4.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMWhatcom County2.6%Washington4.7%
2.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMWhatcom County4.8%Washington5.8%
4.8%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMWhatcom County5.8%Washington8.6%
5.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMWhatcom County9.4%Washington9.5%
9.4%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMWhatcom County12.8%Washington12.4%
12.8%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMWhatcom County15.5%Washington11.0%
15.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMWhatcom County10.1%Washington10.2%
10.1%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMWhatcom County6.4%Washington5.5%
6.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMWhatcom County6.8%Washington7.5%
6.8%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMWhatcom County4.9%Washington3.5%
4.9%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMWhatcom County2.3%Washington1.7%
2.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMWhatcom County8.1%Washington6.9%
8.1%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMWhatcom County5.6%Washington5.6%
5.6%
Whatcom CountyWashingtonSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Whatcom County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 15.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.0% across Washington. Early starts are less common than in Washington: 12.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.6% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Washington: 47.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.1% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (27.7%) 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 Whatcom 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 Whatcom 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 Whatcom 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
Whatcom County
Washington
United States
2009
7:55 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:52 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:51 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:49 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:49 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:49 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:50 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:50 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:50 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:50 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:50 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:48 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:48 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:49 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:49 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:49 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Whatcom County were on the road by 7:49 AM, 6 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:55 AM). That goes against the trend across Washington, where the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Whatcom County now leave 11 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Whatcom County's commute time compare?
Metric
Whatcom County
Washington
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
17.9 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
14.8%
19.8%
15.0%
Walked
3.9%
3.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.8%
3.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in Whatcom County is 17.9 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Washington.
1.8% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.4% in Washington. 3.9% commute by walking, higher than the 3.0% in Washington.
Whatcom County, WA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Whatcom County, WA is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 230,493 residents against a local median of 131,328. The measure that sets Whatcom County, WA apart most is work from home: 14.8%, 26% below the local median of 20.0%.
One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 17.9 min against a local median of 21.1 min, 15% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 15% below the local median it puts Whatcom County, WA at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 16.9% on work from home, so Whatcom County, WA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Whatcom County, WA has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Whatcom County, Washington.
Is commuting expensive in Whatcom County, Washington?
Commuters here spend an estimated 149 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,619 at a typical national wage. That's 20% less than the typical Washington commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Whatcom County, Washington?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Whatcom 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.
Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among 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).