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Traffic heat map of Chaffee County, Colorado: 162 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Rainbow Boulevard and US 50

Chaffee County, Colorado Traffic Counts

Its busiest road, Rainbow Boulevard, carries 15,483 vehicles a day, 3.4 times the average road. This page breaks down traffic in Chaffee County, Colorado across 162 miles of monitored roads split into 1,991 segments, using multi-sourced mobile and sensor data. It goes beyond raw counts to truck flow, congestion and who is driving, so site selection and route planning rest on evidence.
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 Chaffee County, Colorado

Traffic

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

vehicles per day4,522
Trucks

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

7.9%
Average travel time

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

26.3 min
Congestion ratio

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

10.8%
Drivers’ average age

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

53.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$78,157

A typical monitored road in Chaffee County, Colorado sees 4,522 vehicles per day, while its 162 miles of monitored roads together handle 611,609 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈223 million per year). Trucks are 7.9% of traffic, close to the 8.4% across Colorado.

Shorter trips than 94% of counties in Colorado

Chaffee sees 33% lower average daily traffic volume than the state average (4,522 vehicles per day against 6,752), suggesting less demand on each road - less drive-by exposure for retail, but easier access for deliveries. In total volume terms, its road network carries about 0.5% of Colorado's statewide total of vehicle-miles. By volume, Chaffee's 4,522 vehicles per day outpaces 67% of counties in Colorado.

Journey times run 21% lower than the state level, at 26.3 minutes on average. On travel time, Chaffee runs shorter than 94% of counties in Colorado.

The congestion ratio of 10.8% is 31% lower, pointing to smoother traffic flow than the state level - travel times are easy to plan around for scheduled deliveries.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Chaffee County, Colorado

Trafficvehicles per day7,884
Trucks8.2%
Average travel time27.8 min
Congestion ratio14.4%
Drivers’ average age54.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income$79,042

The vast majority of driving in Chaffee County, Colorado happens on highways: 83% of all vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 7,884 vehicles per day, 329% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 1,838 vehicles per day.

With 55% of the road miles (89 miles in 884 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 507,511 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈185 million per year).

That is more highway travel volume than 55% of counties in Colorado.

Lower highway truck share than 87% of counties in Colorado

At 8.2%, highway truck share is 27% lower than the state average. Highways here mostly serve passenger trips, so local access matters more than long-haul routing for logistics operators.

87% of counties in Colorado see a higher highway truck share than Chaffee's 8.2%. Chaffee's highway truck count is lower than 79% of counties in Colorado, at roughly 645 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Chaffee County, Colorado

Trafficvehicles per day1,838
Trucks6.6%
Average travel time25.2 min
Congestion ratio8.0%
Drivers’ average age51.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income$76,497

At 17% of vehicle-miles, local roads carry a smaller share of the traffic in Chaffee County, Colorado than highways. A typical local road sees 1,838 vehicles per day.

Local roads make up 45% of the monitored road miles (73 miles in 1,107 segments) but carry less than their share of travel: 104,098 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈38.0 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 6.6%.

Older drivers than 84% of counties in Colorado

The concentration of trucks on non-highway roads is 20% lower than on highways.

At 47% lower than the state level, the non-highway congestion ratio of 8.0% signals easier movement on local roads.

Chaffee's average driver income is higher than 57% of counties in Colorado. The driver population here skews older than 84% of counties in Colorado.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
AM peak 10:00 AM–12:00 PM and a long afternoon plateau from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 87% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekend traffic is about as busy as on weekdays (+3%): leisure and through trips largely replace the commute.
seasonal traffic icon
Seasonal Fluctuation
Busy season:
June–August is the high season, with volumes +36% versus the annual average.
Lowest month:
January is the quietest month, with volumes -28% versus the annual average - the usual winter low.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Chaffee County, Colorado, the peak hour concentrates about 8% of the day's traffic, and there is a strong seasonal swing of +36% in high season.

Chaffee County vs. Colorado Traffic Comparison

Of the four measures, average daily traffic per road differs most: Chaffee County runs 33% below the Colorado average. Its highway truck share is also 27% below.

MetricChaffee CountyColorado averageDifference
Traffic4,5226,752-33.0%
Truck % (Total Traffic)7.9%8.4%-5.8%
Truck % (Highway)8.2%11.2%-27.3%
Avg. Travel Time26.3 min33.2 min-20.6%

How Chaffee County compares

Chaffee County against nearby counties

Compared with its 4 closest neighbours, Chaffee County sees 26.0% shorter typical trips; it has the third busiest roads of the five.

Chaffee County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Colorado average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Chaffee County4,5227.9%611,60926.3 min10.8%
Park County, Colorado2,90411.7%809,44842.3 min9.4%
Lake County, Colorado3,2048.1%195,07034.0 min13.1%
Gunnison County, Colorado5,0088.4%664,37728.7 min14.5%
Fremont County, Colorado4,8258.2%793,72737.3 min12.4%
Colorado average6,7528.4%N/A33.2 min15.7%

Chaffee County ranked within Colorado

Chaffee County sits in the bottom quarter of the Colorado field on average travel time, at #60 of 64.

Chaffee County ranked among 64 county-level areas in Colorado (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 54.
MeasureChaffee CountyColorado rank
Traffic volume (AADT)4,522#22 of 64
Highway vehicle-miles per day507,511#25 of 54
Truck share on highways8.2%#47 of 54
Highway trucks per day645#43 of 54
Average travel time26.3 min#60 of 64
Average driver income$78,157#28 of 64
Average driver age53.7 yrs#11 of 64

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #11 of 64 on average driver age, against #60 of 64 on average travel time.

Busiest roads in Chaffee County, Colorado

The three busiest roads in Chaffee County average 12,059 vehicles a day, 2.7 times the county average of 4,522 across all its monitored roads.

Rainbow Boulevard leads with 15,483 vehicles a day, 790 of them trucks (5.1%). It also carries the most trucks.

US 285 carries longer journeys than most roads here, with a median trip of 36.9 minutes against 26.3 county-wide.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Rainbow BoulevardTrunk road · 15,483vehicles790trucks · 5.1%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
21.2%
Median trip time
27.2 min
Drivers’ median age
53.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$81,087

Travel on Rainbow Boulevard's busiest stretch runs 21% over free-flow time, against 11% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

2US 50Trunk road · 10,960vehicles765trucks · 7.0%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
16.4%
Median trip time
24.3 min
Drivers’ median age
54.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$80,923

US 50 carries 2.4 times the county average at its busiest, 765 of them trucks (7.0%, below the county-wide 7.9%).

3Main StreetPrimary road · 9,735vehicles515trucks · 5.3%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
31.9%
Median trip time
24.5 min
Drivers’ median age
55.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$73,032

Main Street is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 32% longer than at free-flow speed, against 11% county-wide.

4Highway 50Trunk road · 8,963vehicles649trucks · 7.2%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
19.1%
Median trip time
23.6 min
Drivers’ median age
56.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$80,841

Highway 50 carries 2.0 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 23.6 minutes.

5US 285Trunk road · 8,750vehicles724trucks · 8.3%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
19.1%
Median trip time
36.9 min
Drivers’ median age
54.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$81,608

US 285 peaks at 8,750 vehicles a day, 93% more than the county average; trucks are 8.3% of it, in line with the county-wide 7.9%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Rainbow BoulevardTrunk road · #1 by traffic15,483vehicles790trucks · 5.1%
2US 50Trunk road · #2 by traffic10,960vehicles765trucks · 7.0%
3US 285Trunk road · #5 by traffic8,750vehicles724trucks · 8.3%
4Highway 50Trunk road · #4 by traffic8,963vehicles649trucks · 7.2%
5Main StreetPrimary road · #3 by traffic9,735vehicles515trucks · 5.3%
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

ChaffeeDepartment 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 Chaffee County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Chaffee County, Colorado.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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