Commuting in Waupaca 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, 8:06 PM
Is the commute in Waupaca County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:06 PM
Commute Time Burden in Waupaca County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Waupaca County spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 172 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting. That is 10% more time on the road than the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 1.8 minutes.
Waupaca County holds about 0.9% of Wisconsin's population but accounts for roughly 1.0% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Waupaca County would save about 69 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,130 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)
Waupaca County
20.6 min
41.2 min
172 hrs/yr
$5,324
632
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
20.6
minutes to get to work in
Waupaca County.
That's 8% 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 7.9% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Waupaca County
Car:
87.9%
Worked at Home:
7.9%
Walked:
2.9%
Other:
1.1%
Bicycle:
0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%
Public transit is unusually rare in Waupaca County: 14.2 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.1% vs 1.1%).
Biking is unusually rare in Waupaca County: 4.4 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Commute Mode Trends in Waupaca County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Waupaca 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
88.9%
4.7%
3.1%
1.0%
0.9%
0.0%
0.9%
0.6%
2010
89.3%
4.3%
3.5%
0.8%
0.7%
0.0%
0.8%
0.5%
2011
90.1%
4.3%
3.1%
0.6%
0.8%
0.0%
0.7%
0.4%
2012
90.6%
4.1%
3.3%
0.4%
0.7%
0.0%
0.4%
0.4%
2013
91.7%
3.7%
2.8%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
0.4%
0.7%
2014
91.5%
3.5%
3.2%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
0.6%
2015
91.8%
3.7%
2.4%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.5%
0.6%
2016
90.8%
4.0%
2.8%
1.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
0.8%
2017
90.4%
4.4%
3.0%
0.7%
0.3%
0.0%
0.3%
1.0%
2018
90.5%
4.7%
2.9%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.8%
2019
90.3%
4.8%
3.2%
0.7%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
0.7%
2020
89.4%
5.5%
3.5%
0.7%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.7%
2021
89.0%
6.0%
3.5%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
0.4%
2022
89.4%
6.4%
2.6%
1.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
2023
88.1%
7.5%
3.0%
1.0%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
2024
87.9%
7.9%
2.9%
1.1%
0.1%
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 2015 at 91.8%. Overall it fell from 88.9% in 2009 to 87.9% in 2024, down 1.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 2 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Waupaca County: its share of workers rose from 4.7% in 2009 to 7.9% in 2024, up 3.2 percentage points. Most of that increase, 3.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 0.9% to 0.1% of workers (down 0.8 percentage points).
Commute Start Times in Waupaca County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Waupaca County?
The bars show when commuters in Waupaca 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 AMWaupaca County12.7%Wisconsin6.9%
12.7%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMWaupaca County8.0%Wisconsin4.7%
8.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMWaupaca County8.5%Wisconsin6.1%
8.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMWaupaca County9.9%Wisconsin8.5%
9.9%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMWaupaca County9.0%Wisconsin10.4%
9.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMWaupaca County14.7%Wisconsin14.7%
14.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMWaupaca County9.6%Wisconsin12.7%
9.6%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMWaupaca County6.0%Wisconsin9.0%
6.0%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMWaupaca County2.4%Wisconsin4.0%
2.4%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMWaupaca County2.2%Wisconsin4.7%
2.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMWaupaca County1.3%Wisconsin2.4%
1.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMWaupaca County1.5%Wisconsin1.3%
1.5%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMWaupaca County7.3%Wisconsin8.1%
7.3%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMWaupaca County7.0%Wisconsin6.4%
7.0%
Waupaca CountyWisconsinSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Waupaca 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: 29.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Wisconsin: 39.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.3%) 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 Waupaca 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 Waupaca 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 Waupaca 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
Waupaca County
Wisconsin
United States
2009
7:15 AM
7:30 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:16 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:13 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:16 AM
7:31 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:18 AM
7:31 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:19 AM
7:30 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:17 AM
7:30 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:16 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:12 AM
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:11 AM
7:28 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:09 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:07 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:06 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:05 AM
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:03 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:04 AM
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Waupaca County were on the road by 7:04 AM, 11 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:15 AM). The shift is sharper than across Wisconsin, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Waupaca County now leave 34 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 Waupaca County has moved 5 minutes earlier.
How does Waupaca County's commute time compare?
Metric
Waupaca County
Wisconsin
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
20.6 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
7.9%
13.1%
15.0%
Walked
2.9%
2.6%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
1.1%
3.2%
The average commute time in Waupaca County is 20.6 minutes, longer than the 18.8 minutes in Wisconsin.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 2.9% commute by walking, higher than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.
Waupaca County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Waupaca County, WI is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 51,567 residents against a local median of 70,832. Waupaca County, WI's work from home, at 7.9%, runs 31% below the 11.5% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 4.4% on work from home, so Waupaca County, WI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Waupaca County, WI has the 6th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Waupaca County, Wisconsin.
How much does the average commute cost workers in Waupaca County, Wisconsin?
Commuters here spend an estimated 172 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,324 at a typical national wage. That's 10% more than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.
When is rush hour worst in Waupaca County, Wisconsin?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Waupaca 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 Waupaca County, Wisconsin?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.1% 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).