Lincoln County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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

You 9/24/26, 8:30 PM

How many minutes is the average drive to work in Lincoln County?

Map AI 9/24/26, 8:30 PM

Commute Time Burden in Lincoln County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Lincoln County 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 6.5 full days, spent commuting. That is about the same time on the road as the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way.

Lincoln County holds about 0.5% of Wisconsin's population and accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Lincoln County would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,941 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)
Lincoln County	18.8 min	37.6 min	157 hrs/yr	$4,852	407
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.

Commute Time Map: Wisconsin Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in Wisconsin

Ashland County (12.8 min)
Door County (13.6 min)
Eau Claire County (15.3 min)

Slowest commutes among counties in Wisconsin

Oconto County (26.4 min)
St. Croix County (25.3 min)
Waushara County (23.9 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Lincoln County

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Average commute time

On average, it takes 18.8 minutes to get to work in Lincoln County. That's 16% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 11.6% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Lincoln County

Public transit is unusually rare in Lincoln County: 3.3 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.3% vs 1.1%).

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Lincoln County, versus 0.2% in Wisconsin.

Biking is unusually rare in Lincoln County: 9.0 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.1% vs 0.5%).

Commute Mode Trends in Lincoln County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Lincoln 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	90.9%	3.6%	4.0%	0.3%	0.7%	0.2%	0.4%	0.0%
2010	90.8%	3.8%	3.9%	0.2%	0.8%	0.2%	0.3%	0.0%
2011	91.1%	3.8%	3.2%	0.6%	0.8%	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%
2012	91.9%	3.5%	2.9%	0.6%	0.8%	0.2%	0.1%	0.0%
2013	93.2%	3.2%	1.6%	0.8%	1.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
2014	93.4%	3.1%	2.0%	0.7%	0.7%	0.2%	0.0%	0.0%
2015	93.9%	2.6%	2.1%	0.7%	0.5%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%
2016	93.6%	3.0%	2.3%	0.5%	0.4%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
2017	92.6%	3.4%	2.7%	0.7%	0.4%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
2018	92.2%	3.5%	2.8%	0.6%	0.5%	0.4%	0.0%	0.0%
2019	92.0%	4.0%	2.6%	0.6%	0.5%	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%
2020	89.3%	6.8%	2.5%	0.6%	0.5%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
2021	89.2%	7.4%	2.0%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
2022	86.9%	9.0%	2.2%	0.9%	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2023	85.8%	11.2%	1.8%	0.8%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
2024	85.1%	11.6%	1.7%	1.1%	0.3%	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 2015 at 93.9%. Overall it fell from 90.9% in 2009 to 85.1% in 2024, down 5.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 9 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Lincoln County: its share of workers rose from 3.6% in 2009 to 11.6% in 2024, up 8.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 7.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Walking lost the most ground, falling from 4.0% to 1.7% of workers (down 2.3 percentage points).

Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2011 release and has stayed ahead since.

Commute Start Times in Lincoln County

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Lincoln County?

The bars show when commuters in Lincoln 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		12.3%
5:00-5:29 AM		6.1%
5:30-5:59 AM		9.5%
6:00-6:29 AM		11.1%
6:30-6:59 AM		11.0%
7:00-7:29 AM		14.7%
7:30-7:59 AM		8.8%
8:00-8:29 AM		5.9%
8:30-8:59 AM		1.9%
9:00-9:59 AM		3.3%
10:00-10:59 AM		1.3%
11:00-11:59 AM		0.7%
12:00-3:59 PM		6.2%
4:00-11:59 PM		7.2%

Lincoln County Wisconsin Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Lincoln County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.7% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are more common than in Wisconsin: 27.8% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Wisconsin: 40.4% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (18.7%) 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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	Lincoln County	Wisconsin	United States
2009	7:09 AM	7:30 AM	7:37 AM
2010	7:09 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2011	7:10 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2012	7:09 AM	7:31 AM	7:38 AM
2013	7:10 AM	7:31 AM	7:39 AM
2014	7:09 AM	7:30 AM	7:39 AM
2015	7:11 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2016	7:10 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2017	7:11 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2018	7:15 AM	7:28 AM	7:37 AM
2019	7:13 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2020	7:08 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2021	7:09 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2022	7:10 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2023	7:06 AM	7:27 AM	7:38 AM
2024	7:00 AM	7:27 AM	7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Lincoln County were on the road by 7:00 AM, 9 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:09 AM). The shift is sharper than across Wisconsin, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Lincoln County now leave 38 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 Lincoln County has moved 13 minutes earlier. The 2024 release is the earliest typical start for Lincoln County in the whole series.

How does Lincoln County's commute time compare?

Metric	Lincoln County	Wisconsin	US Average
Avg. Commute Time	18.8 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	12:00 AM – 04:59 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home	11.6%	13.1%	15.0%
Walked	1.7%	2.6%	2.4%
Public Transit	0.3%	1.1%	3.2%

The average commute time in Lincoln County is about the same as in Wisconsin.

0.3% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Lincoln County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Lincoln County, WI is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 28,426 residents against a local median of 23,647. Where Lincoln County, WI breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 16% above the local median of 16.2 min at 18.8 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.

The counties themselves spread 1.8 min on one-way commute, so Lincoln County, WI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Lincoln County, WI has the 6th lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area	Population	One-way commute	Work from home	Typical departure
Lincoln County, WI	28,426	18.8 min #6/6	11.6% #2/6	7:00 AM #1/6
Oneida County, WI	38,164	16.0 min	10.5%	7:31 AM
Marathon County, WI	138,251	17.0 min	12.9%	7:22 AM
Langlade County, WI	19,490	16.2 min	7.5%	7:07 AM
Price County, WI	14,089	17.7 min	7.9%	7:09 AM
Vilas County, WI	23,647	16.2 min	11.3%	7:28 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Lincoln County, Wisconsin.

What is the financial impact of commuting in Lincoln County, Wisconsin?

Commuters here spend an estimated 157 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,852 at a typical national wage.

What are the busiest morning travel hours in Lincoln County, Wisconsin?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Lincoln County, Wisconsin. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 12:00 AM – 04:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Lincoln County, Wisconsin?

Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.3% of commuters use it versus 1.1% in Wisconsin, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.

How do commute times compare across counties in Wisconsin?

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).