Commute times

How do you get to work?
How long does it take?

If you average the soul-sucking metropolitan traffic jams with the breezy "home-for-lunch" circuits, the average commute in the United States clocks in at 26.4 minutes each way.

In the New River and Roanoke Valleys, commutes are shorter than both the national average and Virginia's average of 28 minutes. If you live in Blacksburg, expect to spend 13.9 minutes commuting to work. In Roanoke, that time climbs to 19.6 minutes.

A car driving down Blacksburg's main street
An illustration of a phone and a printed map

Compare local commute times*...

  • Blacksburg: 13.9 minutes
  • Christiansburg: 20.8 minutes
  • Roanoke: 20.8 minutes
  • Salem: 19.6 minutes
An illustration of a United States map

to national commute times*

  • Atlanta, GA: 26.3 minutes
  • Austin, TX: 24.1 minutes
  • Boston, MA: 30.4 minutes
  • Chattanooga, TN: 18.8 minutes
  • Huntsville, AL: 18.9 minutes
  • Melbourne, FL: 21.7
  • New York City, NY: 40.8 minutes

*United States Census Bureau (2017)

Commuting in the New River and Roanoke Valleys

Basically, if you live around here, a crushing commute won’t drain your life or your good humor.

And the time you DO spend commuting is relatively stress free. Our idea of heavy traffic is a 20-minute drive home on the day of the yearly Thursday night Virginia Tech football game.

In the Blacksburg-Christiansburg area, you may find yourself sharing the road with self-driving cars, cyclists, and test vehicles on their way to the Virginia Smart Road research facility or with an impromptu parade of cars bedecked in Hokie colors after a Virginia Tech home game.

Commuters traveling between the New River and Roanoke Valleys can choose Interstate 81 or scenic back roads. The two communities constitute a thriving technology corridor with connectors to the greater Washington D.C. area and Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.

How does your commute compare?

Enter your commute time and see out how your commute stacks up.

A photo of the Virginia Tech Smart Road
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