Skip to content
ZipNumbers

Harris County · Texas

Houston, TX commute times

How 1,112,341 workers get to work and how long it takes, on Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates.

Commuters inside a crowded transit car, illustrating local commute time data

Quick answer

The average one-way commute in Houston is 29.6 minutes, against 28.5 minutes nationally. 69.7% of workers drive alone, 3.3% take public transit and 11.7% work from home.

Average commute
29.6 minUS 28.5 min
Drove alone
69.7%US 70.2%
Public transit
3.3%US 3.5%
Commutes 60 min or more
15.9%US 16.8%

How Houston gets to work

Share of workers 16 and over by means of transportation to work, 2019-2023 ACS 5-year.

ModeHoustonUnited StatesShare
Drove alone69.7%70.2%
Carpooled10.1%8.5%
Public transit3.3%3.5%
— bus2.9%1.7%
— subway or elevated0.1%1.3%
— commuter rail0%0.4%
Bicycle0.4%0.4%
Walked1.9%2.4%
Worked from home11.7%13.5%

How long the trip takes

Share of workers whose one-way trip falls in each band. Excludes people who work from home.

Travel timeShare of workersDistribution
Under 5 min1.6%
5-9 min5.9%
10-14 min10.7%
15-19 min14.6%
20-24 min16.2%
25-29 min7.5%
30-34 min19.6%
35-39 min3.6%
40-44 min4.5%
45-59 min8.6%
60-89 min5.5%
90+ min1.8%

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year (B08301, B08303) · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

How to read Houston commute data

What the Census counts, and what it leaves out.

The Census asks workers 16 and over how they usually travelled to work last week and how long that trip took door to door, including waiting and transfers. Someone who drives four days and takes the train on the fifth is counted once, under the mode used most. Work-from-home counts as a commute mode, so shares add to 100 with it included and the travel-time bands cover only people who left the house. Figures describe residents of Houston wherever they work, not everyone who works inside the city.

Other Houston datasets on this site.

Statewide: Texas cities · Texas ZIP codes · Texas sales tax · Texas counties