Wood County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Wood 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, 7:52 PM

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

Map AI 9/24/26, 7:52 PM

Commute Time Burden in Wood County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Wood 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 132 hours, about 5.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 16% less time on the road than the Wisconsin average of 18.8 minutes each way, a difference of 3.0 minutes.

Wood County holds about 1.3% of Wisconsin's population but accounts for roughly 1.1% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Wood County would save about 53 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,633 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)
Wood County	15.8 min	31.6 min	132 hrs/yr	$4,083	694
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

Wood County

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Average commute time

On average, it takes 15.8 minutes to get to work in Wood County. That's 29% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Among the top 5 fastest counties in Wisconsin

The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 10.1% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Wood County

Public transit is unusually rare in Wood County: 6.8 times less than the Wisconsin average (0.2% vs 1.1%).

Commute Mode Trends in Wood County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Wood 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	Taxi	Motorcycle
2009	89.7%	4.3%	3.5%	0.8%	0.7%	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%
2010	90.8%	3.7%	2.9%	0.8%	0.9%	0.4%	0.1%	0.4%
2011	90.5%	4.1%	3.0%	0.8%	0.6%	0.3%	0.2%	0.6%
2012	90.9%	3.7%	3.3%	0.7%	0.6%	0.2%	0.2%	0.5%
2013	91.3%	3.8%	3.3%	0.6%	0.4%	0.1%	0.2%	0.5%
2014	90.6%	3.5%	3.8%	0.8%	0.4%	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
2015	90.2%	3.6%	4.1%	0.9%	0.4%	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
2016	90.6%	3.3%	3.8%	0.9%	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%
2017	90.9%	3.4%	3.6%	0.7%	0.5%	0.3%	0.2%	0.4%
2018	91.4%	3.5%	3.1%	0.8%	0.5%	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
2019	92.0%	3.6%	2.6%	0.6%	0.4%	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
2020	91.0%	4.5%	2.5%	0.6%	0.6%	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%
2021	90.3%	6.1%	2.1%	0.4%	0.6%	0.1%	0.3%	0.1%
2022	88.6%	7.7%	1.9%	0.7%	0.6%	0.1%	0.4%	0.1%
2023	86.9%	9.1%	2.1%	0.7%	0.7%	0.1%	0.3%	0.0%
2024	85.7%	10.1%	2.2%	0.8%	0.8%	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2019 at 92.0%. Overall it fell from 89.7% in 2009 to 85.7% in 2024, down 4.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.

Working from home gained the most ground in Wood County: its share of workers rose from 4.3% in 2009 to 10.1% in 2024, up 5.8 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.5 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Walking lost the most ground, falling from 3.5% to 2.2% of workers (down 1.3 percentage points).

Commute Start Times in Wood County

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Wood County?

The bars show when commuters in Wood 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		6.5%
5:00-5:29 AM		5.2%
5:30-5:59 AM		6.9%
6:00-6:29 AM		10.4%
6:30-6:59 AM		12.6%
7:00-7:29 AM		14.5%
7:30-7:59 AM		11.7%
8:00-8:29 AM		7.0%
8:30-8:59 AM		3.4%
9:00-9:59 AM		3.5%
10:00-10:59 AM		1.9%
11:00-11:59 AM		1.2%
12:00-3:59 PM		7.3%
4:00-11:59 PM		8.1%

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

The busiest time to head out in Wood County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.5% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.7% across Wisconsin. Early starts are about as common as in Wisconsin: 18.5% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.7% there. The morning rush looks much like Wisconsin's: 45.8% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.8% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (22.0%) 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 Wood 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 Wood 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 Wood 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	Wood County	Wisconsin	United States
2009	7:25 AM	7:30 AM	7:37 AM
2010	7:26 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2011	7:27 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2012	7:24 AM	7:31 AM	7:38 AM
2013	7:25 AM	7:31 AM	7:39 AM
2014	7:22 AM	7:30 AM	7:39 AM
2015	7:21 AM	7:30 AM	7:38 AM
2016	7:20 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2017	7:20 AM	7:29 AM	7:38 AM
2018	7:18 AM	7:28 AM	7:37 AM
2019	7:20 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2020	7:17 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2021	7:21 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2022	7:19 AM	7:27 AM	7:37 AM
2023	7:21 AM	7:27 AM	7:38 AM
2024	7:18 AM	7:27 AM	7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Wood County were on the road by 7:18 AM, 8 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:25 AM). The shift is sharper than across Wisconsin, where the typical start moved 3 minutes earlier. Commuters in Wood County now leave 20 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 Wood County has moved 3 minutes earlier.

How does Wood County's commute time compare?

Metric	Wood County	Wisconsin	US Average
Avg. Commute Time	15.8 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	06:30 AM – 06:59 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM	07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home	10.1%	13.1%	15.0%
Walked	2.2%	2.6%	2.4%
Public Transit	0.2%	1.1%	3.2%

The average commute time in Wood County is 15.8 minutes, shorter than the 18.8 minutes in Wisconsin.

0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 1.1% in Wisconsin. 2.2% commute by walking, lower than the 2.6% in Wisconsin.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Wood County, WI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Wood County, WI is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 74,006 residents against a local median of 34,738. Wood County, WI's work from home, at 10.1%, runs 19% below the 12.4% typical of the counties around it.

The counties themselves spread 6.0% on work from home, so Wood County, WI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Wood County, WI has the 4th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.

Area	Population	One-way commute	Work from home	Typical departure
Wood County, WI	74,006	15.8 min #1/6	10.1% #4/6	7:18 AM #3/6
Marathon County, WI	138,251	17.0 min	12.9%	7:22 AM
Juneau County, WI	26,689	21.3 min	6.9%	7:10 AM
Portage County, WI	70,832	16.1 min	12.6%	7:30 AM
Adams County, WI	21,114	23.9 min	9.8%	7:20 AM
Clark County, WI	34,738	18.0 min	12.4%	7:02 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Wood County, Wisconsin.

Is living in Wood County, Wisconsin good for avoiding long commute costs?

Commuters here spend an estimated 132 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,083 at a typical national wage. That's 16% less than the typical Wisconsin commuter spends.

When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Wood County, Wisconsin?

Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Wood County, Wisconsin. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 06:30 AM – 06:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Do people use public transit in Wood 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).