Commuting in Whitman 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, 5:16 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Whitman County?
Map AI9/24/26, 5:16 PM
Commute Time Burden in Whitman County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Whitman 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 112 hours, about 4.7 full days, spent commuting. That is 40% less time on the road than the Washington average of 22.4 minutes each way, a difference of 8.9 minutes.
Whitman 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 Whitman County would save about 45 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,391 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)
Whitman County
13.5 min
26.9 min
112 hrs/yr
$3,476
532
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
13.5
minutes to get to work in
Whitman County.
That's 40% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the top 5 fastest counties in Washington
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 10.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Whitman County
Car:
73.5%
Worked at Home:
10.3%
Walked:
10.2%unusually high
Public Transportation:
3.1%
Bicycle:
1.9%unusually high
Other:
0.9%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Walking is unusually common in Whitman County: 3.3 times more than the Washington average (10.2% vs 3.0%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Whitman County, versus 0.1% in Washington.
Biking is unusually common in Whitman County: 3.0 times more than the Washington average (1.9% vs 0.6%).
Whitman County stands out for active commuting: 12.1% of workers walk or bike to work, 3.3 times the Washington average of 3.7%.
Commute Mode Trends in Whitman County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Whitman 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
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
71.4%
4.3%
16.1%
5.9%
1.4%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
2010
71.0%
4.7%
16.3%
5.9%
1.3%
0.3%
0.6%
0.0%
2011
68.4%
6.5%
16.8%
5.7%
1.5%
0.3%
0.7%
0.0%
2012
67.1%
6.4%
18.0%
5.8%
1.7%
0.4%
0.5%
0.1%
2013
67.9%
5.8%
17.3%
6.5%
1.7%
0.3%
0.5%
0.1%
2014
68.8%
6.7%
16.2%
5.7%
1.6%
0.4%
0.4%
0.1%
2015
69.7%
5.8%
16.6%
5.1%
1.8%
0.4%
0.5%
0.1%
2016
71.8%
4.7%
16.5%
4.7%
1.3%
0.4%
0.4%
0.1%
2017
72.4%
5.1%
15.7%
4.8%
1.2%
0.3%
0.4%
0.1%
2018
72.4%
4.7%
16.2%
4.7%
1.2%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
2019
72.3%
4.4%
16.0%
5.6%
1.0%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
2020
72.2%
6.1%
15.1%
4.2%
1.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.1%
2021
69.3%
8.3%
15.7%
3.9%
1.7%
1.0%
0.0%
0.1%
2022
72.2%
8.9%
12.3%
3.8%
1.7%
1.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
72.7%
9.5%
11.7%
3.4%
1.5%
1.1%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
73.5%
10.3%
10.2%
3.1%
1.9%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share bottomed out in 2012 at 67.1%. Overall it rose from 71.4% in 2009 to 73.5% in 2024, up 2.1 percentage points. It has risen in each of the last 3 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Whitman County: its share of workers rose from 4.3% in 2009 to 10.3% in 2024, up 6.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 5.9 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 16.1% to 10.2% of workers (down 5.9 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Whitman County
😴Sleeping InThe highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Washington's 39 counties: 29.9% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
🦉Night OwlThe 3rd-latest start among Washington's 39 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:57 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Whitman County?
The bars show when commuters in Whitman 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 AMWhitman County3.6%Washington7.1%
3.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMWhitman County4.0%Washington4.7%
4.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMWhitman County4.2%Washington5.8%
4.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMWhitman County4.8%Washington8.6%
4.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMWhitman County6.4%Washington9.5%
6.4%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMWhitman County12.2%Washington12.4%
12.2%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMWhitman County16.6%Washington11.0%
16.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMWhitman County13.2%Washington10.2%
13.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMWhitman County5.1%Washington5.5%
5.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMWhitman County8.1%Washington7.5%
8.1%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMWhitman County3.6%Washington3.5%
3.6%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMWhitman County2.7%Washington1.7%
2.7%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMWhitman County7.4%Washington6.9%
7.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMWhitman County8.0%Washington5.6%
8.0%
Whitman CountyWashingtonSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Whitman County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 16.6% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.0% across Washington. Early starts are less common than in Washington: 11.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.6% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Washington: 48.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 43.1% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (29.9%) 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 Whitman 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 Whitman 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 Whitman 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
Whitman County
Washington
United States
2009
8:07 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2010
8:09 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2011
8:08 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2012
8:11 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
2013
8:07 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2014
8:02 AM
7:35 AM
7:39 AM
2015
8:04 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2016
8:03 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2017
8:03 AM
7:33 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:59 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2019
8:01 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:57 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:56 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:57 AM
7:33 AM
7:37 AM
2023
8:01 AM
7:34 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:57 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Whitman County were on the road by 7:57 AM, 10 minutes earlier than in 2009 (8:07 AM). That goes against the trend across Washington, where the typical commuter now leaves 2 minutes later than in 2009. Commuters in Whitman County now leave 19 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 Whitman County has moved 4 minutes earlier.
How does Whitman County's commute time compare?
Metric
Whitman County
Washington
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
13.5 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
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
10.3%
19.8%
15.0%
Walked
10.2%
3.0%
2.4%
Public Transit
3.1%
3.4%
3.2%
The average commute time in Whitman County is 13.5 minutes, shorter than the 22.4 minutes in Washington.
3.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 3.4% in Washington. 10.2% commute by walking, higher than the 3.0% in Washington.
Whitman County, WA Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Whitman County, WA is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 47,000 residents against a local median of 22,455. Nothing separates Whitman County, WA sharply from the counties around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is one-way commute, 14% below the local median at 13.5 min against 15.6 min. Whitman County, WA has the 2nd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Whitman County, Washington.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Whitman County, Washington?
Commuters here spend an estimated 112 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $3,476 at a typical national wage. That's 40% less than the typical Washington commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Whitman County, Washington?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Whitman County, Washington. 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.
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).