United States Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in the United States: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in the United States: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in the United States spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 187 hours, about 7.8 full days, spent commuting.
Working from home just 2 days a week in the United States would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,316 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the 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 any specific 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.
US Commute Time Map by State
- Wyoming (13.2 min)
- North Dakota (13.8 min)
- South Dakota (15.3 min)
- District of Columbia (30.3 min)
- New York (28.7 min)
- Maryland (28.3 min)
Click any state on the map or ask our AI for deeper commute insights.
On average, it takes 22.4 minutes to get to work in the United States.
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 15.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in the United States
- Car: 77.4%
- Worked at Home: 15.0%
- Public Transportation: 3.2%
- Walked: 2.4%
- Other: 1.1%
- Bicycle: 0.4%
- Taxi: 0.3%
- Motorcycle: 0.1%
Commute Mode Trends in the United States, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in the United States 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.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Public Transportation | Walked | Other | Bicycle | Taxi | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 86.4% | 4.0% | 4.9% | 2.9% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2010 | 86.4% | 4.1% | 4.9% | 2.9% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2011 | 86.3% | 4.2% | 4.9% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2012 | 86.2% | 4.3% | 5.0% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2013 | 86.1% | 4.3% | 5.0% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2014 | 86.0% | 4.4% | 5.0% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2015 | 85.9% | 4.4% | 5.1% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2016 | 85.8% | 4.5% | 5.1% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2017 | 85.6% | 4.7% | 5.1% | 2.7% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2018 | 85.6% | 4.9% | 5.0% | 2.7% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2019 | 85.4% | 5.2% | 5.0% | 2.7% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 2020 | 83.8% | 7.2% | 4.6% | 2.6% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 81.9% | 9.7% | 4.1% | 2.5% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 80.3% | 11.6% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2023 | 78.8% | 13.4% | 3.5% | 2.4% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2024 | 77.4% | 15.0% | 3.2% | 2.4% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 86.4% in 2009 to 77.4% in 2024, down 9.0 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 6 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in the United States: its share of workers rose from 4.0% in 2009 to 15.0% in 2024, up 11.0 percentage points. Most of that increase, 9.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 4.9% to 3.2% of workers (down 1.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook public transit to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2019 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in the United States
What Time Do People Leave for Work in the United States?
The bars show when commuters in the United States 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. Hover over or tap a row for the exact number.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
The United States5.5%
|
5.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
The United States4.0%
|
4.0% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
The United States4.9%
|
4.9% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
The United States8.7%
|
8.7% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
The United States9.4%
|
9.4% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
The United States14.4%
|
14.4% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
The United States11.9%
|
11.9% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
The United States11.5%
|
11.5% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
The United States5.5%
|
5.5% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
The United States6.8%
|
6.8% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
The United States3.1%
|
3.1% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
The United States1.5%
|
1.5% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
The United States6.8%
|
6.8% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
The United States6.1%
|
6.1% |
The United States Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in the United States is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 14.4% of commuters leave home. 14.4% of commuters leave before 6 AM. 47.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM. About 1 in 4 commuters (24.3%) 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: search for an address, 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 the United States 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. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | The United States |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in the United States were on the road by 7:38 AM, almost exactly the same as in 2009.
US Commute Time at a Glance
| Metric | United States |
|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 22.4 min |
| Work From Home | 15.0% |
| Most Popular Vehicle | Car |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in the United States.
What is the financial impact of commuting in the United States?
Commuters here spend an estimated 187 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,790 at a typical national wage.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in the United States?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in the United States. 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.
Is the United States a good location for remote and hybrid workers?
About 15.0% of workers here already work from home. Working from home just 2 days a week in the United States would save about 75 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,316 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Which states in the United States have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among states in the United States, the shortest average commutes are in Wyoming (13.2 min), North Dakota (13.8 min), South Dakota (15.3 min). The longest are in District of Columbia (30.3 min), New York (28.7 min), Maryland (28.3 min).