Portage County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Portage 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, 8:08 PM

How much time do drivers in Portage County spend on the road daily?

Map AI 9/24/26, 8:08 PM

Commute Time Burden in Portage County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Portage County spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 135 hours, about 5.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 14% less time on the road than the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 2.6 minutes.

Portage County holds about 1.2% of Wisconsin's population but accounts for roughly 1.0% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Portage County would save about 54 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,668 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)
Portage County	16.1 min	32.3 min	135 hrs/yr	$4,170	747
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

Portage County

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Average commute time

On average, it takes 16.1 minutes to get to work in Portage County. That's 28% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Faster than 89% of 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 12.6% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Portage County

Public transit is unusually rare in Portage County: 5.0 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.2% vs 1.1%).

Taking a taxi is unusually rare in Portage County: 4.2 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.0% vs 0.2%).

Commute Mode Trends in Portage County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Portage 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	Bicycle	Other	Public Transportation	Motorcycle	Taxi
2009	87.1%	3.1%	5.8%	2.6%	0.4%	0.6%	0.4%	0.0%
2010	87.4%	3.3%	5.4%	2.5%	0.6%	0.4%	0.4%	0.0%
2011	86.8%	3.7%	5.8%	2.0%	0.6%	0.6%	0.4%	0.1%
2012	87.4%	3.4%	5.3%	2.1%	0.6%	0.6%	0.4%	0.1%
2013	87.8%	3.7%	5.4%	1.8%	0.7%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
2014	88.2%	3.6%	5.4%	1.7%	0.6%	0.4%	0.1%	0.1%
2015	87.8%	3.6%	6.0%	1.5%	0.4%	0.4%	0.1%	0.1%
2016	87.9%	3.4%	6.0%	1.6%	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
2017	87.9%	3.8%	6.2%	1.2%	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%
2018	88.2%	4.1%	5.5%	1.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.1%	0.1%
2019	87.9%	4.2%	5.4%	1.2%	0.6%	0.5%	0.1%	0.1%
2020	86.3%	7.0%	4.4%	1.0%	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%	0.1%
2021	84.0%	9.7%	4.3%	0.7%	0.7%	0.5%	0.1%	0.1%
2022	83.1%	11.2%	3.7%	1.0%	0.5%	0.4%	0.1%	0.1%
2023	82.4%	11.5%	4.0%	0.9%	0.7%	0.4%	0.1%	0.1%
2024	81.8%	12.6%	4.2%	0.8%	0.4%	0.2%	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 2014 at 88.2%. Overall it fell from 87.1% in 2009 to 81.8% in 2024, down 5.3 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Portage County: its share of workers rose from 3.1% in 2009 to 12.6% in 2024, up 9.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 8.4 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Biking lost the most ground, falling from 2.6% to 0.8% of workers (down 1.8 percentage points).

Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2020 release and has stayed ahead since.

Commute Start Times in Portage County

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Portage County?

The bars show when commuters in Portage 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		5.9%
5:00-5:29 AM		4.3%
5:30-5:59 AM		7.0%
6:00-6:29 AM		8.8%
6:30-6:59 AM		9.9%
7:00-7:29 AM		14.2%
7:30-7:59 AM		12.6%
8:00-8:29 AM		8.0%
8:30-8:59 AM		4.8%
9:00-9:59 AM		4.1%
10:00-10:59 AM		1.9%
11:00-11:59 AM		1.8%
12:00-3:59 PM		10.0%
4:00-11:59 PM		6.8%

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

The busiest time to head out in Portage County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.2% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are about as common as in Wisconsin: 17.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Wisconsin: 44.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.5%) 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 Portage 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 Portage 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 Portage 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	Portage County	Wisconsin	United States
2009	7:41 AM	7:30 AM	7:37 AM
2010	7:41 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2011	7:43 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2012	7:44 AM	7:31 AM	7:38 AM
2013	7:44 AM	7:31 AM	7:39 AM
2014	7:43 AM	7:30 AM	7:39 AM
2015	7:41 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2016	7:38 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2017	7:36 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2018	7:32 AM	7:28 AM	7:37 AM
2019	7:32 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2020	7:28 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2021	7:27 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2022	7:28 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2023	7:30 AM	7:27 AM	7:38 AM
2024	7:30 AM	7:27 AM	7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Portage County were on the road by 7:30 AM, 11 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:41 AM). The shift is sharper than across Wisconsin, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Portage County now leave 8 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 Portage County has moved 3 minutes earlier.

How does Portage County's commute time compare?

Metric	Portage County	Wisconsin	US Average
Avg. Commute Time	16.1 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	12.6%	13.1%	15.0%
Walked	4.2%	2.6%	2.4%
Public Transit	0.2%	1.1%	3.2%

The average commute time in Portage County is 16.1 minutes, shorter than the 18.8 minutes in Wisconsin.

0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 4.2% commute by walking, higher than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Portage County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Portage County, WI is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 70,832 residents against a local median of 51,567. Where Portage County, WI breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 28% above the local median of 9.8% at 12.6%.

One-way commute tells the same story from another angle: 16.1 min against a local median of 20.6 min, 22% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is one-way commute, and at 22% below the local median it puts Portage County, WI at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread 5.0% on work from home, so Portage County, WI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Portage County, WI has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.

Area	Population	One-way commute	Work from home	Typical departure
Portage County, WI	70,832	16.1 min #2/6	12.6% #2/6	7:30 AM #6/6
Waushara County, WI	24,869	23.9 min	8.2%	7:04 AM
Marathon County, WI	138,251	17.0 min	12.9%	7:22 AM
Waupaca County, WI	51,567	20.6 min	7.9%	7:04 AM
Wood County, WI	74,006	15.8 min	10.1%	7:18 AM
Adams County, WI	21,114	23.9 min	9.8%	7:20 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Portage County, Wisconsin.

How much does the average commute cost workers in Portage County, Wisconsin?

Commuters here spend an estimated 135 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,170 at a typical national wage. That's 14% less than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.

When is rush hour worst in Portage County, Wisconsin?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Portage 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.

Do people use public transit in Portage 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.

Where are the quickest and slowest commutes among 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).