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Traffic heat map of Lake County, Minnesota: 242 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on 7th Avenue and MN 61

Lake County, Minnesota Traffic Counts

How busy are the roads of Lake County, Minnesota? We measure 242 road miles, divided into 2,190 segments, with multi-sourced, cross-verified mobile and sensor data. Its busiest road, 7th Avenue, carries 10,827 vehicles a day, 4.8 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 Lake County, Minnesota

Traffic

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

vehicles per day2,273
Trucks

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

7.5%
Average travel time

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

39.4 min
Congestion ratio

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

7.0%
Drivers’ average age

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

53.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$70,936

The average monitored road in Lake County, Minnesota carries 2,273 vehicles per day. Across its 242 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 388,293 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈142 million per year). About 1 in 13 vehicles is a truck, in line with Minnesota (8.1%).

Longer trips than 83% of counties in Minnesota

At 2,273 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Lake carries 33% less traffic than the state average of 3,404, suggesting less demand on each road - less drive-by exposure for retail, but easier access for deliveries. Network-wide, Lake accounts for about 0.3% of Minnesota's statewide total of vehicle-miles. Lake carries more traffic than 69% of counties in Minnesota.

The average trip takes 39.4 minutes, 22% higher than the state level. 83% of counties in Minnesota have a shorter average travel time than Lake's 39.4 minutes.

The congestion ratio of 7.0% is 34% 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 Lake County, Minnesota

Trafficvehicles per day4,970
Trucks7.5%
Average travel time46.8 min
Congestion ratio12.2%
Drivers’ average age53.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income$69,458

Highways carry more than half of all travel in Lake County, Minnesota (66% of vehicle-miles). The average highway carries 4,970 vehicles per day, 416% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 963 vehicles per day.

Highways make up 24% of the monitored road miles (57 miles, 716 segments), so they carry more than their share: 257,818 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈94.1 million per year).

Lower highway truck share than 99% of counties in Minnesota

The concentration of trucks on highways (7.5%) is 27% lower than the state average for similar road classifications. Highways here mostly serve passenger trips, so local access matters more than long-haul routing for logistics operators.

Lake's highway truck share (7.5%) is lower than 99% of counties in Minnesota. Lake's highway truck count is lower than 84% of counties in Minnesota, at roughly 375 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Lake County, Minnesota

Trafficvehicles per day963
Trucks7.3%
Average travel time35.8 min
Congestion ratio4.5%
Drivers’ average age54.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income$75,436

Local roads carry a significant share of travel in Lake County, Minnesota: 34% of all vehicle-miles. A typical local road sees 963 vehicles per day.

Spread over 185 miles and 1,474 segments, 76% of the road network, local roads carry a lighter load per mile: 130,475 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈47.6 million per year). About 1 in 14 vehicles on non-highway roads is a truck (7.3%).

Older drivers than 88% of counties in Minnesota

Local roads and highways carry about the same truck share here (7.3% against 7.5%), so freight is not confined to the highways.

Non-highway congestion (4.5%) runs 54% lower than the state average, pointing to smoother local traffic flow.

Trip origins here have lower average income than 78% of counties in Minnesota. The driver population here skews older than 88% of counties in Minnesota.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Lake County, Minnesota, traffic has a sharp commute peak, with the busiest hour carrying about 9% of the day's traffic.

Lake County vs. Minnesota Traffic Comparison

The average daily traffic per road sets Lake County apart: 33% below the Minnesota average. Its highway truck share is also 27% below.

MetricLake CountyMinnesota averageDifference
Traffic2,2733,404-33.2%
Truck % (Total Traffic)7.5%8.1%-7.6%
Truck % (Highway)7.5%10.3%-26.5%
Avg. Travel Time39.4 min32.2 min+22.1%

How Lake County compares

Trips in Lake County run longer than in any nearby county

Set against the average of the 4 areas nearest to it, Lake County moves 24.2% of the total daily travel and sees 22.3% longer typical trips; it has the third busiest roads of the five. Trips here run longer without running slower: distance, not congestion, is what drivers spend their time on.

Lake County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Minnesota average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Lake County2,2737.5%388,29339.4 min7.0%
Cook County, Minnesota2,2197.9%159,00932.2 min6.0%
St. Louis County, Minnesota3,1346.8%4,889,89431.7 min9.8%
Douglas County, Wisconsin3,25910.1%941,51030.3 min11.1%
Bayfield County, Wisconsin1,66110.9%418,90534.5 min8.5%
Minnesota average3,4048.1%N/A32.2 min10.6%

Lake County ranked within Minnesota

Truck share on highways places Lake County #80 of 81 in Minnesota - the bottom quarter of the state.

Lake County ranked among 87 county-level areas in Minnesota (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 81.
MeasureLake CountyMinnesota rank
Traffic volume (AADT)2,273#28 of 87
Highway vehicle-miles per day257,818#49 of 81
Truck share on highways7.5%#80 of 81
Highway trucks per day375#68 of 81
Average travel time39.4 min#16 of 87
Average driver income$70,936#68 of 87
Average driver age53.2 yrs#11 of 87

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #11 of 87 on average driver age, against #80 of 81 on truck share on highways.

Busiest roads in Lake County, Minnesota

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 9,757 vehicles a day, against 2,273 on the average road in Lake County.

7th Avenue leads with 10,827 vehicles a day, 703 of them trucks (6.5%). It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Voyageur Highway carries longer journeys than most roads here, with a median trip of 66.7 minutes against 39.4 county-wide.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
17th AvenueTrunk road · 10,827vehicles703trucks · 6.5%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
25.2%
Median trip time
48.3 min
Drivers’ median age
52.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$68,085

7th Avenue is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 25% longer than at free-flow speed, against 7% county-wide.

2MN 61Trunk road · 10,106vehicles693trucks · 6.9%
Road class
Trunk road
Median trip time
47.8 min
Drivers’ median age
52.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$69,425

The busiest stretch of MN 61 carries 4.4 times the county average; trucks are 6.9% of it, below the county-wide 7.5%.

361 ExpresswayTrunk road · 8,340vehicles616trucks · 7.4%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
8.5%
Median trip time
44.4 min
Drivers’ median age
52.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$71,948

On its busiest stretch, 61 Expressway carries 3.7 times the county average; trucks are 7.4% of it, in line with the county-wide 7.5%.

44th StreetSecondary road · 3,445vehicles166trucks · 4.8%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
29.7 min
Drivers’ median age
53.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$64,373

At 52% more than the county average, 4th Street draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $64,373 in household income.

5Outer DriveSecondary road · 3,044vehicles172trucks · 5.7%
Road class
Secondary road
Congestion ratio
7.9%
Median trip time
21.8 min
Drivers’ median age
57.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,167

Trips on Outer Drive are short, a median 21.8 minutes against 39.4 county-wide, so it mostly serves local errands and commutes.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
17th AvenueTrunk road · #1 by traffic10,827vehicles703trucks · 6.5%
2MN 61Trunk road · #2 by traffic10,106vehicles693trucks · 6.9%
361 ExpresswayTrunk road · #3 by traffic8,340vehicles616trucks · 7.4%
4Voyageur HighwayTrunk road · 1,791vehicles196trucks · 11.0%
Road class
Trunk road
Median trip time
66.7 min
Drivers’ median age
55.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,263

Voyageur Highway is a quieter road: its busiest stretch carries 21% less than the county average; trucks are 11.0% of it, above the county-wide 7.5%.

5Outer DriveSecondary road · #5 by traffic3,044vehicles172trucks · 5.7%
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

LakeDepartment 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 Lake County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Lake County, Minnesota.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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