Commuting in Sawyer 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, 8:13 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Sawyer County?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:13 PM
Commute Time Burden in Sawyer County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Sawyer County spend about 33 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 138 hours, about 5.8 full days, spent commuting. That is 11% less time on the road than the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 2.1 minutes.
Sawyer County holds about 0.3% of Wisconsin's population and accounts for roughly 0.3% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Sawyer County would save about 55 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,717 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)
Sawyer County
16.6 min
33.2 min
138 hrs/yr
$4,293
278
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
16.6
minutes to get to work in
Sawyer County.
That's 26% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 76% of counties in Wisconsin
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 12.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Sawyer County
Car:
82.2%
Worked at Home:
12.7%
Walked:
2.1%
Other:
1.7%
Public Transportation:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Sawyer County, versus 0.2% in Wisconsin.
Biking is unusually rare in Sawyer County: 4.6 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Commute Mode Trends in Sawyer County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Sawyer 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
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
88.2%
5.9%
3.8%
1.0%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
2010
88.6%
5.5%
4.2%
0.6%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
0.3%
2011
87.7%
6.6%
4.2%
0.6%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
2012
87.2%
6.7%
4.2%
0.7%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2013
88.8%
6.0%
3.7%
0.5%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2014
88.0%
6.1%
4.1%
0.4%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%
0.2%
2015
88.5%
5.6%
3.9%
0.3%
1.1%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
2016
87.9%
5.3%
4.1%
0.3%
1.6%
0.4%
0.1%
0.2%
2017
88.1%
5.0%
3.9%
0.6%
1.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
2018
88.6%
4.6%
3.7%
0.8%
1.9%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
87.7%
5.4%
3.4%
1.0%
2.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
2020
88.8%
5.9%
2.2%
1.2%
1.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
87.0%
7.6%
2.1%
1.5%
1.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
84.3%
10.2%
2.5%
1.6%
1.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
83.3%
11.2%
2.0%
2.0%
1.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
82.2%
12.7%
2.1%
1.7%
1.1%
0.1%
0.0%
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 88.8%. Overall it fell from 88.2% in 2009 to 82.2% in 2024, down 6.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 4 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Sawyer County: its share of workers rose from 5.9% in 2009 to 12.7% in 2024, up 6.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 7.3 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 3.8% to 2.1% of workers (down 1.7 percentage points).
Public transit peaked at 2.1% in 2019 and has since fallen back to 1.1%.
Commute Start Times in Sawyer County
🚦Rush-Hour RegularsThe highest share of rush-hour departures among Wisconsin's 72 counties: 57.1% of commuters leave between 6:30 and 8:29 AM.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Sawyer County?
The bars show when commuters in Sawyer 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 AMSawyer County4.3%Wisconsin6.9%
4.3%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMSawyer County3.6%Wisconsin4.7%
3.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMSawyer County4.2%Wisconsin6.1%
4.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMSawyer County9.0%Wisconsin8.5%
9.0%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMSawyer County9.9%Wisconsin10.4%
9.9%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMSawyer County16.1%Wisconsin14.7%
16.1%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMSawyer County19.2%Wisconsin12.7%
19.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMSawyer County11.9%Wisconsin9.0%
11.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMSawyer County2.9%Wisconsin4.0%
2.9%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMSawyer County3.7%Wisconsin4.7%
3.7%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMSawyer County2.2%Wisconsin2.4%
2.2%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMSawyer County1.5%Wisconsin1.3%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMSawyer County7.6%Wisconsin8.1%
7.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMSawyer County3.7%Wisconsin6.4%
3.7%
Sawyer CountyWisconsinSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Sawyer County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 19.2% of commuters leave home, compared with 12.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are less common than in Wisconsin: 12.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Wisconsin: 57.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (18.8%) 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 Sawyer 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 Sawyer 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 Sawyer 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
Sawyer County
Wisconsin
United States
2009
7:39 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:43 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:42 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:40 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:44 AM
7:31 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:46 AM
7:30 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:43 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:44 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:41 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:39 AM
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:35 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:34 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:34 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:31 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:35 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:34 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Sawyer County were on the road by 7:34 AM, 4 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:39 AM). Wisconsin followed the same path, with the typical start moving 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Sawyer County now leave 3 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM).
How does Sawyer County's commute time compare?
Metric
Sawyer County
Wisconsin
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
16.6 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
12.7%
13.1%
15.0%
Walked
2.1%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.1%
1.1%
3.2%
The average commute time in Sawyer County is 16.6 minutes, shorter than the 18.8 minutes in Wisconsin.
The share of commuters using public transit is about the same as Wisconsin. 2.1% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.
Sawyer County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Sawyer County, WI is typical in size for this group, 18,476 residents against a local median of 16,575, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Nothing separates Sawyer 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% below the local median at 16.6 min against 19.0 min. Sawyer County, WI has the lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
Is living in Sawyer County, Wisconsin good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 138 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,293 at a typical national wage. That's 11% less than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Sawyer County, Wisconsin?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Sawyer County, 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.
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).