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Traffic heat map of Burke County, North Carolina: 348 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on I 40 and US 321

Burke County, North Carolina Traffic Counts

How busy are the roads of Burke County, North Carolina? We measure 348 road miles, divided into 7,002 segments, with multi-sourced, cross-verified mobile and sensor data. Its busiest road, I 40, carries 40,114 vehicles a day, 8.4 times the average road. The breakdown below covers volume, trucks, congestion and driver profiles for retailers, logistics planners and engineers.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Burke County, North Carolina

Traffic

The average number of vehicles that travel each day over any road in the road network.

vehicles per day4,774
Trucks

The percentage of the total traffic volume composed of heavy vehicles.

10.4%
Average travel time

The average time of travel averaged among all vehicles traveling on the road network.

32.7 min
Congestion ratio

The rate at which the actual travel time exceeds free-flow travel time, averaged among all roads in the network.

14.9%
Drivers’ average age

Average age of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

50.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income

Average income of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

$61,219

A typical monitored road in Burke County, North Carolina sees 4,774 vehicles per day, while its 348 miles of monitored roads together handle 2,243,467 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈819 million per year). At 10.4%, the truck share runs above the 8.7% across North Carolina: about 1 in 10 vehicles.

Traffic 25% below the North Carolina average

Burke sees 25% lower average daily traffic volume than the state average (4,774 vehicles per day against 6,332), suggesting less demand on each road - a factor worth weighing in site selection and logistics planning. In total volume terms, its road network carries about 0.8% of North Carolina's statewide total of vehicle-miles. Burke carries more traffic than 58% of counties in North Carolina.

Journey times here (32.7 minutes on average) closely track the state level. Its average travel time of 32.7 minutes is longer than 59% of counties in North Carolina.

The congestion ratio of 14.9% is 20% lower, pointing to smoother traffic flow than the state level - relevant for traffic control and delivery planning.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Burke County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day18,087
Trucks14.6%
Average travel time44.9 min
Congestion ratio44.2%
Drivers’ average age49.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income$63,076

Travel in Burke County, North Carolina splits roughly evenly, with about half of it (51% of vehicle-miles) on highways. The average highway carries 18,087 vehicles per day, 300% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 4,524 vehicles per day.

Yet highways are only 16% of the road network, 57 miles in 129 segments, so each mile of them is 3.1 times as busy as the average road mile.

That is more highway travel volume than 60% of counties in North Carolina.

More highway trucks than 88% of counties in North Carolina

Highway truck concentration here runs 20% higher than the state average, at 14.6%. Highways here lean toward freight, so highway access is a real asset for logistics operators.

By truck concentration, highways here outrank 78% of counties in North Carolina. By raw truck volume, Burke carries more highway trucks than 88% of counties in North Carolina.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Burke County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day4,524
Trucks6.0%
Average travel time32.4 min
Congestion ratio14.4%
Drivers’ average age50.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income$59,912

Travel in Burke County, North Carolina splits roughly evenly, with about half of it (49% of vehicle-miles) on local roads. A typical local road sees 4,524 vehicles per day.

Spread over 291 miles and 6,873 segments, 84% of the road network, local roads carry a lighter load per mile: 1,106,112 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈404 million per year). Trucks make up 6.0% of non-highway traffic, about 1 in 17 vehicles.

Local roads carry 58% fewer trucks by share than highways

Non-highway roads carry a truck concentration that's 58% lower than the highway network.

The non-highway congestion ratio of 14.4% is 19% lower than the state level, suggesting more efficient local mobility than the state average.

Burke's average driver income is lower than 61% of counties in North Carolina. 60% of counties in North Carolina have a younger driver population than Burke.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Burke County, North Carolina, the peak hour concentrates about 8% of the day's traffic.

Burke County vs. North Carolina Traffic Comparison

The average daily traffic per road sets Burke County apart: 25% below the North Carolina average. Its highway truck share, by contrast, is 20% above.

MetricBurke CountyNorth Carolina averageDifference
Traffic4,7746,332-24.6%
Truck % (Total Traffic)10.4%8.7%+18.7%
Truck % (Highway)14.6%12.1%+20.4%
Avg. Travel Time32.7 min32.3 min+1.2%

How Burke County compares

Burke County moves more traffic than any nearby county

Set against the average of the 4 areas nearest to it, Burke County moves 2.2 times the total daily travel; it has the busiest roads of the five. Bigger and busier at once: more road than the areas around it and heavier traffic on it, which makes it the centre of gravity for travel in this part of the map.

Burke County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the North Carolina average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Burke County4,77410.4%2,243,46732.7 min14.9%
Caldwell County, North Carolina4,6955.9%1,468,64533.0 min12.9%
McDowell County, North Carolina4,74812.3%1,710,67735.3 min14.8%
Avery County, North Carolina3,5956.7%522,87835.5 min11.6%
Mitchell County, North Carolina2,6586.2%321,44730.3 min11.3%
North Carolina average6,3328.7%N/A32.3 min18.6%

Burke County ranked within North Carolina

Burke County sits in the top quarter of the North Carolina field on highway truck volume, at #13 of 97.

Burke County ranked among 100 county-level areas in North Carolina (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 97.
MeasureBurke CountyNorth Carolina rank
Traffic volume (AADT)4,774#43 of 100
Highway vehicle-miles per day1,137,355#39 of 97
Truck share on highways14.6%#22 of 97
Highway trucks per day2,632#13 of 97
Average travel time32.7 min#41 of 100
Average driver income$61,219#61 of 100
Average driver age50.3 yrs#40 of 100

Busiest roads in Burke County, North Carolina

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 37,726 vehicles a day, against 4,774 on the average road in Burke County.

I 40 leads with 40,114 vehicles a day, 5,977 of them trucks (14.9%). It also carries the most trucks.

Trips using I 40 are long: a median of 47.7 minutes against 32.7 county-wide, the mark of a through route.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1I 40Motorway · 40,114vehicles5,977trucks · 14.9%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
43.2%
Median trip time
47.7 min
Drivers’ median age
50.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$62,369

I 40 carries 8.4 times the county average at its busiest, 5,977 of them trucks (14.9%, above the county-wide 10.4%).

2US 321Trunk road · 38,226vehicles2,481trucks · 6.5%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
51.7%
Median trip time
37.7 min
Drivers’ median age
48.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$70,398

US 321 is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 52% longer than at free-flow speed, against 15% county-wide.

3Hickory BoulevardTrunk road · 34,837vehicles2,802trucks · 8.0%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
45.1%
Median trip time
36.2 min
Drivers’ median age
48.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$68,991

Delays build on Hickory Boulevard: its congestion ratio of 45% over free-flow time is well above the county's 15%.

4Burkemont AvenuePrimary road · 19,680vehicles921trucks · 4.7%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
33.4%
Median trip time
34.2 min
Drivers’ median age
50.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$60,992

At 4.1 times the county average, Burkemont Avenue draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $60,992 in household income.

5Fleming DrivePrimary road · 16,672vehicles1,004trucks · 6.0%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
20.0%
Median trip time
35.2 min
Drivers’ median age
50.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$57,710

The busiest stretch of Fleming Drive carries 3.5 times the county average; trucks are 6.0% of it, below the county-wide 10.4%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1I 40Motorway · #1 by traffic40,114vehicles5,977trucks · 14.9%
2Hickory BoulevardTrunk road · #3 by traffic34,837vehicles2,802trucks · 8.0%
3US 321Trunk road · #2 by traffic38,226vehicles2,481trucks · 6.5%
4Fleming DrivePrimary road · #5 by traffic16,672vehicles1,004trucks · 6.0%
5Sterling StreetPrimary road · 16,289vehicles974trucks · 6.0%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
37.2%
Median trip time
32.2 min
Drivers’ median age
50.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$59,988

On its busiest stretch, Sterling Street carries 3.4 times the county average; trucks are 6.0% of it, below the county-wide 10.4%.

How to read these road counts
  • The first number is AADT, annual average daily traffic: the vehicles passing a point on an average day, both directions combined and trucks included. On a divided highway both carriageways are added together.
  • Traffic changes along a road, with more near interchanges and towns and less in open country. Every figure for a road describes its busiest stretch in the county, so the two rankings show the same numbers for the same road.
  • The second number is the trucks on that stretch, a part of its AADT. The bar splits the AADT into cars and light vehicles (blue) and trucks (amber).
  • See segment-level AADT for any road on TrafficZoom.

Data Sources & Methodology

The data presented on this page is derived from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform, which aggregates and normalizes information from multiple sources, including:

Mobile device location data (anonymized and aggregated)

Road sensor networks and traffic counters

Historical traffic pattern databases

Public traffic count programs published by the

BurkeDepartment of Transportation

Demographic Baseline for O-D Modeling

U.S. Census Bureau
All metrics represent estimates based on statistical modeling and are intended for strategic planning purposes.
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Data current as of:
Q3 2026

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Counties near Burke County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Burke County, North Carolina.

Need segment-level traffic data?

Identify traffic patterns street by street and analyze the exact corridors that matter to your project.