Need segment-level traffic data?

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

Get insights →
Traffic heat map of Caldwell County, North Carolina: 308 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Hickory Boulevard

Caldwell County, North Carolina Traffic Counts

How busy are the roads of Caldwell County, North Carolina? We measure 308 road miles, divided into 6,798 segments, with multi-sourced, cross-verified mobile and sensor data. Its busiest road, Hickory Boulevard, carries 25,888 vehicles a day, 5.5 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
Find my place
total traffic icon

Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Caldwell County, North Carolina

Traffic

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

vehicles per day4,695
Trucks

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

5.9%
Average travel time

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

33.0 min
Congestion ratio

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

12.9%
Drivers’ average age

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

48.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$60,180

The average monitored road in Caldwell County, North Carolina carries 4,695 vehicles per day. Across its 308 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 1,468,645 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈536 million per year). Trucks are a smaller part of the mix than across North Carolina: 5.9% against 8.7%.

Congestion 30% below the North Carolina average

At 4,695 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Caldwell carries 26% less traffic than the state average of 6,332, suggesting less demand on each road - lighter roads for freight, but less passing trade for roadside retail. Network-wide, Caldwell accounts for about 0.5% of North Carolina's statewide total of vehicle-miles. Caldwell carries more traffic than 56% of counties in North Carolina.

At 33.0 minutes, the average travel time matches the state level closely. 64% of counties in North Carolina have a shorter average travel time than Caldwell's 33.0 minutes.

At 30% lower than the state level, the 12.9% congestion ratio signals smoother traffic flow - fewer delays make delivery windows more reliable.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Caldwell County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day12,988
Trucks6.7%
Average travel time36.7 min
Congestion ratio26.0%
Drivers’ average age47.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income$61,851

Highways carry about half of all travel in Caldwell County, North Carolina, 47% of vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 12,988 vehicles per day, 278% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 3,434 vehicles per day.

Highways make up 21% of the monitored road miles (63 miles, 897 segments), so they carry more than their share: 697,166 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈254 million per year).

Lower highway truck share than 98% of counties in North Carolina

Highway truck concentration here runs 44% lower than the state average, at 6.7%. Highways here carry mainly commuter and local trips, with little through freight.

Caldwell's highway truck share (6.7%) is lower than 98% of counties in North Carolina. By raw truck volume, Caldwell carries fewer highway trucks than 76% of counties in North Carolina.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Caldwell County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day3,434
Trucks5.1%
Average travel time32.4 min
Congestion ratio10.9%
Drivers’ average age50.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income$58,768

Local roads carry about half of all travel in Caldwell County, North Carolina, 53% of vehicle-miles. A typical local road sees 3,434 vehicles per day.

Local roads make up 79% of the monitored road miles (244 miles in 5,901 segments) but carry less than their share of travel: 771,479 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈282 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 5.1%.

Local congestion 38% below the North Carolina average

Non-highway roads carry a truck concentration that's 24% lower than the highway network.

The non-highway congestion ratio of 10.9% is 38% lower than the state level, suggesting more efficient local mobility than the state average.

68% of counties in North Carolina see higher average driver income among trip origins than Caldwell. The driver population here skews younger than 58% of counties in North Carolina.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

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

Caldwell County vs. North Carolina Traffic Comparison

The highway truck share sets Caldwell County apart: 44% below the North Carolina average. Its truck share is also 33% below.

MetricCaldwell CountyNorth Carolina averageDifference
Traffic4,6956,332-25.9%
Truck % (Total Traffic)5.9%8.7%-32.5%
Truck % (Highway)6.7%12.1%-44.4%
Avg. Travel Time33.0 min32.3 min+2.2%

How Caldwell County compares

Caldwell County against nearby counties

Nothing in this table sets Caldwell County sharply apart from the 4 areas nearest to it, though it has the third busiest roads of the five.

Caldwell 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
Caldwell County4,6955.9%1,468,64533.0 min12.9%
Burke County, North Carolina4,77410.4%2,243,46732.7 min14.9%
Alexander County, North Carolina3,6846.3%463,86430.1 min11.7%
Avery County, North Carolina3,5956.7%522,87835.5 min11.6%
Catawba County, North Carolina7,2598.1%4,070,87832.5 min19.1%
North Carolina average6,3328.7%N/A32.3 min18.6%

Caldwell County ranked within North Carolina

Truck share on highways places Caldwell County #95 of 97 in North Carolina - the bottom quarter of the state.

Caldwell 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.
MeasureCaldwell CountyNorth Carolina rank
Traffic volume (AADT)4,695#45 of 100
Highway vehicle-miles per day697,166#58 of 97
Truck share on highways6.7%#95 of 97
Highway trucks per day873#74 of 97
Average travel time33.0 min#37 of 100
Average driver income$60,180#68 of 100
Average driver age48.7 yrs#58 of 100

Caldwell County ranks #37 of 100 on average travel time but #95 of 97 on truck share on highways - the two describe the same roads and are worth reading together rather than either on its own.

Busiest roads in Caldwell County, North Carolina

On their busiest stretches, the three busiest roads in Caldwell County carry 20,180 vehicles a day on average, 4.3 times the typical road in the county (4,695).

Hickory Boulevard leads with 25,888 vehicles a day, 1,757 of them trucks (6.8%). It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Hickory BoulevardTrunk road · 25,888vehicles1,757trucks · 6.8%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
33.6%
Median trip time
35.8 min
Drivers’ median age
48.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$63,491

Delays build on Hickory Boulevard: its congestion ratio of 34% over free-flow time is well above the county's 13%.

2Wilkesboro Boulevard SoutheastTrunk road · 18,327vehicles901trucks · 4.9%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
24.3%
Median trip time
32.4 min
Drivers’ median age
50.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$63,956

Travel on Wilkesboro Boulevard Southeast's busiest stretch runs 24% over free-flow time, against 13% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

3Morganton Boulevard SouthwestPrimary road · 16,326vehicles627trucks · 3.8%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
20.7%
Median trip time
33.3 min
Drivers’ median age
50.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$58,744

The busiest stretch of Morganton Boulevard Southwest carries 3.5 times the county average; trucks are 3.8% of it, below the county-wide 5.9%.

4Morganton BoulevardPrimary road · 15,962vehicles890trucks · 5.6%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
19.7%
Median trip time
37.6 min
Drivers’ median age
50.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$58,297

On its busiest stretch, Morganton Boulevard carries 3.4 times the county average; trucks are 5.6% of it, below the county-wide 5.9%.

5Blowing Rock BoulevardTrunk road · 12,591vehicles844trucks · 6.7%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
24.0%
Median trip time
39.8 min
Drivers’ median age
46.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$57,647

Blowing Rock Boulevard peaks at 12,591 vehicles a day, 2.7 times the county average; trucks are 6.7% of it, above the county-wide 5.9%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Hickory BoulevardTrunk road · #1 by traffic25,888vehicles1,757trucks · 6.8%
2Wilkesboro Boulevard SoutheastTrunk road · #2 by traffic18,327vehicles901trucks · 4.9%
3Morganton BoulevardPrimary road · #4 by traffic15,962vehicles890trucks · 5.6%
4Blowing Rock BoulevardTrunk road · #5 by traffic12,591vehicles844trucks · 6.7%
5Southwest BoulevardPrimary road · 12,407vehicles792trucks · 6.4%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
13.2%
Median trip time
34.5 min
Drivers’ median age
50.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$56,778

Southwest Boulevard carries 2.6 times the county average at its busiest, 792 of them trucks (6.4%, above the county-wide 5.9%).

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

CaldwellDepartment 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.
link arrow icon
Data current as of:
Q3 2026

Explore further

TrafficZoom platform

— street-level analytics and custom corridor reports.

Map AI

— demographics, housing and mobility data.

Counties near Caldwell County

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

Need segment-level traffic data?

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