Fitchburg Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Fitchburg, Wisconsin: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Fitchburg: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Fitchburg spend about 38 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 157 hours, about 6.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 1% more time on the road than the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 0.1 minutes.
Fitchburg holds about 0.6% of Wisconsin's population and accounts for roughly 0.6% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Fitchburg would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,951 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg | 18.9 min | 37.8 min | 157 hrs/yr | $4,878 | 2,923 |
| 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.
Fitchburg Commute Map
On average, it takes 18.9 minutes to get to work in Fitchburg. That's 16% 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 17.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Fitchburg
- Car: 78.9%
- Worked at Home: 17.2%
- Walked: 1.8%
- Public Transportation: 0.7%
- Other: 0.7%
- Bicycle: 0.4%
- Motorcycle: 0.2%
- Taxi: 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in Fitchburg, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Fitchburg 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Public Transportation | Other | Bicycle | Motorcycle | Taxi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 92.0% | 3.3% | 0.8% | 2.2% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 91.3% | 3.4% | 0.8% | 2.6% | 0.5% | 1.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 91.0% | 3.6% | 1.0% | 2.8% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 90.2% | 3.6% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 89.2% | 4.1% | 1.7% | 3.0% | 0.5% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 89.3% | 4.3% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 0.4% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 89.4% | 4.1% | 2.1% | 3.3% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 89.5% | 4.3% | 2.1% | 3.0% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 89.3% | 4.5% | 1.8% | 3.3% | 0.2% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 90.7% | 4.1% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2019 | 91.0% | 3.9% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2020 | 86.5% | 8.2% | 2.8% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 84.3% | 10.3% | 2.6% | 1.3% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 82.9% | 12.3% | 2.3% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2023 | 80.8% | 14.7% | 2.2% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2024 | 78.9% | 17.2% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 92.0% in 2009 to 78.9% in 2024, down 13.1 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Fitchburg: its share of workers rose from 3.3% in 2009 to 17.2% in 2024, up 13.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 13.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.2% to 0.7% of workers (down 1.5 percentage points).
Walking overtook public transit to become the 3rd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Fitchburg
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Fitchburg?
The bars show when commuters in Fitchburg 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 AM
Fitchburg3.0%
Wisconsin6.9%
|
3.0% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Fitchburg2.0%
Wisconsin4.7%
|
2.0% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Fitchburg3.1%
Wisconsin6.1%
|
3.1% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Fitchburg7.6%
Wisconsin8.5%
|
7.6% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Fitchburg7.4%
Wisconsin10.4%
|
7.4% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Fitchburg17.2%
Wisconsin14.7%
|
17.2% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Fitchburg18.7%
Wisconsin12.7%
|
18.7% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Fitchburg12.6%
Wisconsin9.0%
|
12.6% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Fitchburg8.6%
Wisconsin4.0%
|
8.6% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Fitchburg5.3%
Wisconsin4.7%
|
5.3% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Fitchburg2.7%
Wisconsin2.4%
|
2.7% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Fitchburg1.3%
Wisconsin1.3%
|
1.3% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Fitchburg4.9%
Wisconsin8.1%
|
4.9% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Fitchburg5.6%
Wisconsin6.4%
|
5.6% |
Fitchburg Wisconsin Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Fitchburg is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 18.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are less common than in Wisconsin: 8.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Wisconsin: 56.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.8%) 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 Fitchburg, 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 Fitchburg 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 Fitchburg 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.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Fitchburg | Wisconsin | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:42 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:44 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:44 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:48 AM | 7:31 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:48 AM | 7:31 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:47 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:48 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:46 AM | 7:29 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:45 AM | 7:29 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:42 AM | 7:28 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:44 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:38 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:39 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:39 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:45 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:46 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Fitchburg were on the road by 7:46 AM, 4 minutes later than in 2009 (7:42 AM). That goes against the trend across Wisconsin, where the typical commuter now leaves 3 minutes earlier than in 2009. Commuters in Fitchburg now leave 8 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 Fitchburg has moved 2 minutes later.
How does Fitchburg's commute time compare?
| Metric | Fitchburg | Wisconsin | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 18.9 min | 18.8 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 | 17.2% | 13.1% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.8% | 2.6% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 0.7% | 1.1% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Fitchburg is about the same as in Wisconsin.
0.7% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 1.8% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.
Fitchburg, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
How Fitchburg, WI compares with the 1 cities closest to it.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg, WI | 34,584 | 18.9 min #2/2 | 17.2% #2/2 | 7:46 AM #1/2 |
| Madison, WI | 260,079 | 18.1 min | 20.4% | 8:03 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
Is commuting expensive in Fitchburg, Wisconsin?
Commuters here spend an estimated 157 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,878 at a typical national wage. That's 1% more than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Fitchburg, Wisconsin?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. 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 much time do residents in Fitchburg, Wisconsin save by working from home?
About 17.2% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in Fitchburg would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,951 at the same national wage assumption used above.