Commuting in Rock County, Wisconsin: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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How much time do drivers in Rock County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:10 PM
Commute Time Burden in Rock County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Rock 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 158 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 0.2 minutes.
Rock County holds about 2.8% of Wisconsin's population and accounts for roughly 2.8% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Rock County would save about 63 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,962 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)
Rock County
19.0 min
38.0 min
158 hrs/yr
$4,905
1,002
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
19.0
minutes to get to work in
Rock County.
That's 15% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
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 9.2% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Rock County
Car:
87.3%
Worked at Home:
9.2%
Walked:
1.7%
Other:
1.0%
Public Transportation:
0.5%
Motorcycle:
0.1%
Bicycle:
0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Biking is unusually rare in Rock County: 4.0 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Commute Mode Trends in Rock County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Rock 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
Taxi
Motorcycle
Bicycle
2009
92.5%
3.2%
2.6%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2010
92.0%
3.5%
2.8%
0.4%
0.7%
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2011
92.0%
3.9%
2.4%
0.5%
0.6%
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2012
91.9%
4.2%
2.3%
0.4%
0.6%
0.0%
0.4%
0.3%
2013
91.6%
4.5%
2.2%
0.4%
0.7%
0.0%
0.4%
0.3%
2014
91.7%
4.3%
2.3%
0.5%
0.6%
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2015
92.1%
4.1%
2.1%
0.5%
0.5%
0.0%
0.4%
0.3%
2016
92.4%
3.7%
2.1%
0.5%
0.6%
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2017
92.6%
3.5%
2.0%
0.7%
0.6%
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
2018
92.8%
3.3%
2.0%
0.7%
0.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.3%
2019
93.0%
3.1%
1.9%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.2%
0.3%
2020
92.1%
4.4%
1.7%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2021
91.1%
5.5%
1.6%
0.8%
0.6%
0.1%
0.1%
0.3%
2022
90.0%
6.7%
1.6%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2023
88.5%
8.2%
1.8%
0.7%
0.5%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
2024
87.3%
9.2%
1.7%
1.0%
0.5%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2019 at 93.0%. Overall it fell from 92.5% in 2009 to 87.3% in 2024, down 5.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Rock County: its share of workers rose from 3.2% in 2009 to 9.2% in 2024, up 6.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 2.6% to 1.7% of workers (down 0.9 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Rock County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Rock County?
The bars show when commuters in Rock 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 AMRock County8.8%Wisconsin6.9%
8.8%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMRock County5.1%Wisconsin4.7%
5.1%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMRock County6.9%Wisconsin6.1%
6.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMRock County8.8%Wisconsin8.5%
8.8%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMRock County8.5%Wisconsin10.4%
8.5%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMRock County14.3%Wisconsin14.7%
14.3%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMRock County12.6%Wisconsin12.7%
12.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMRock County8.4%Wisconsin9.0%
8.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMRock County3.2%Wisconsin4.0%
3.2%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMRock County3.5%Wisconsin4.7%
3.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMRock County2.7%Wisconsin2.4%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMRock County1.3%Wisconsin1.3%
1.3%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMRock County8.7%Wisconsin8.1%
8.7%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMRock County7.0%Wisconsin6.4%
7.0%
Rock CountyWisconsinSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Rock County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.3% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are more common than in Wisconsin: 20.9% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Wisconsin: 43.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.3%) 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 Rock 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 Rock 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 Rock 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
Rock County
Wisconsin
United States
2009
7:32 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:33 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:31 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:29 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:28 AM
7:31 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:26 AM
7:30 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:24 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:24 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:24 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:25 AM
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:26 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:25 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:25 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:23 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:24 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:25 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Rock County were on the road by 7:25 AM, 8 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:32 AM). The shift is sharper than across Wisconsin, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Rock County now leave 13 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Rock County's commute time compare?
Metric
Rock County
Wisconsin
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
19.0 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
9.2%
13.1%
15.0%
Walked
1.7%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.5%
1.1%
3.2%
The average commute time in Rock County is about the same as in Wisconsin.
0.5% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 1.7% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.
Rock County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Rock County, WI is the 3rd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 164,349 residents against a local median of 105,657. Rock County, WI sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is work from home, 12% below the local median at 9.2% against 10.5%. Rock County, WI has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Rock County, Wisconsin.
Is living in Rock County, Wisconsin good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 158 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,905 at a typical national wage. That's 1% more than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Rock County, Wisconsin?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Rock 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.
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).