Commuting in Adams County, Wisconsin: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:16 PM
How much time do drivers in Adams County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:16 PM
Commute Time Burden in Adams County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Adams County spend about 48 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 199 hours, about 8.3 full days, spent commuting. That is 27% more time on the road than the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 5.1 minutes.
Adams County holds about 0.4% of Wisconsin's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Adams County would save about 80 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,469 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)
Adams County
23.9 min
47.8 min
199 hrs/yr
$6,173
460
Wisconsin
18.8 min
37.5 min
156 hrs/yr
$4,846
811
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
23.9
minutes to get to work in
Adams County.
That's 7% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Among the 5 slowest counties in Wisconsin
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 9.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Adams County
Car:
87.6%
Worked at Home:
9.8%
Walked:
1.2%
Other:
0.9%
Public Transportation:
0.2%unusually low
Motorcycle:
0.1%
Bicycle:
0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Adams County: 5.4 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.2% vs 1.1%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Adams County, versus 0.2% in Wisconsin.
Biking is unusually rare in Adams County: 4.4 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Commute Mode Trends in Adams County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Adams 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
Other
Public Transportation
Motorcycle
Bicycle
Taxi
2009
90.7%
5.2%
1.9%
1.5%
0.2%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2010
90.4%
5.2%
2.1%
1.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.6%
0.0%
2011
91.2%
4.7%
2.4%
0.9%
0.1%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
2012
92.0%
4.6%
1.9%
0.8%
0.1%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
2013
92.3%
4.1%
1.9%
1.0%
0.1%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2014
92.3%
4.1%
1.7%
1.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.3%
0.0%
2015
91.9%
4.7%
1.4%
1.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
91.3%
5.3%
1.6%
1.5%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
90.7%
6.0%
1.5%
1.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2018
90.7%
6.1%
1.4%
1.2%
0.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2019
90.2%
6.5%
1.5%
1.0%
0.1%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2020
90.3%
6.9%
1.5%
0.8%
0.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2021
89.3%
8.1%
1.2%
0.7%
0.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2022
88.7%
8.6%
1.2%
1.1%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
88.0%
9.3%
1.3%
1.1%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2024
87.6%
9.8%
1.2%
0.9%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2013 at 92.3%. Overall it fell from 90.7% in 2009 to 87.6% in 2024, down 3.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 4 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Adams County: its share of workers rose from 5.2% in 2009 to 9.8% in 2024, up 4.6 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 1.9% to 1.2% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Adams County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Adams County?
The bars show when commuters in Adams 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 Wisconsin for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMAdams County8.7%Wisconsin6.9%
8.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMAdams County6.3%Wisconsin4.7%
6.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMAdams County6.2%Wisconsin6.1%
6.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMAdams County9.1%Wisconsin8.5%
9.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMAdams County11.0%Wisconsin10.4%
11.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMAdams County13.3%Wisconsin14.7%
13.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMAdams County12.9%Wisconsin12.7%
12.9%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMAdams County5.4%Wisconsin9.0%
5.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMAdams County3.0%Wisconsin4.0%
3.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMAdams County4.3%Wisconsin4.7%
4.3%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMAdams County2.3%Wisconsin2.4%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMAdams County1.1%Wisconsin1.3%
1.1%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMAdams County9.2%Wisconsin8.1%
9.2%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMAdams County7.3%Wisconsin6.4%
7.3%
Adams CountyWisconsinSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Adams County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 13.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are more common than in Wisconsin: 21.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Wisconsin: 42.6% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.1%) 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 Adams 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 Adams 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 Adams County next to Wisconsin 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
Adams County
Wisconsin
United States
2009
7:28 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:30 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:28 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:27 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:25 AM
7:31 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:28 AM
7:30 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:31 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:30 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:34 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:33 AM
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:29 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:32 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:31 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:28 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:25 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:20 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Adams County were on the road by 7:20 AM, 8 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:28 AM). The shift is sharper than across Wisconsin, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Adams 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 Adams County has moved 9 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Adams County in the whole series.
How does Adams County's commute time compare?
Metric
Adams County
Wisconsin
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
23.9 min
18.8 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
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
9.8%
13.1%
15.0%
Walked
1.2%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.2%
1.1%
3.2%
The average commute time in Adams County is 23.9 minutes, longer than the 18.8 minutes in Wisconsin.
0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 1.2% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.
Adams County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Adams County, WI is the 5th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 21,114 residents against a local median of 26,689. Nothing separates Adams County, WI 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, 12% above the local median at 23.9 min against 21.3 min. Adams County, WI has the 5th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Adams County, Wisconsin.
Is commuting expensive in Adams County, Wisconsin?
Commuters here spend an estimated 199 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $6,173 at a typical national wage. That's 27% more than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Adams County, Wisconsin?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Adams County, Wisconsin. 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.
How common is public transit use in Adams County, Wisconsin?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.2% of commuters use it versus 1.1% in Wisconsin, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Which counties in Wisconsin have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Wisconsin, the shortest average commutes are in Ashland County (12.8 min), Door County (13.6 min), Eau Claire County (15.3 min). The longest are in Oconto County (26.4 min), St. Croix County (25.3 min), Waushara County (23.9 min).