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Traffic heat map of Lake County, Montana: 208 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on 3rd Avenue and 2nd Avenue

Lake County, Montana Traffic Counts

Traffic analytics for Lake County, Montana, calculated from real-world mobile and sensor networks on 1,929 road segments (208 road miles, about 569 ft each). Its busiest road, 3rd Avenue, carries 14,907 vehicles a day, 3.5 times the average road. Use the figures below to move from assumptions to certainty on retail locations, logistics and road planning.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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total traffic icon

Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Lake County, Montana

Traffic

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

vehicles per day4,307
Trucks

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

9.1%
Average travel time

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

39.6 min
Congestion ratio

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

10.6%
Drivers’ average age

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

49.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$62,720

Our data shows 4,307 vehicles per day on the average road in Lake County, Montana, and 875,237 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈319 million per year) across its 208 miles of monitored roads. Trucks are a smaller part of the mix than across Montana: 9.1% against 11.7%.

Busier roads than 89% of counties in Montana

At 4,307 vehicles per day, the average road in Lake tracks closely with the state average of 4,202 vehicles per day. In total volume terms, its road network carries about 3.1% of Montana's statewide total of vehicle-miles. Lake carries more traffic than 89% of counties in Montana.

Journey times run 9% higher than the state level, at 39.6 minutes on average. 51% of counties in Montana have a shorter average travel time than Lake's 39.6 minutes.

Congestion is somewhat lower than the state level, at a ratio of 10.6% (14% lower) - crucial for traffic control improvement and logistics planning.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Lake County, Montana

Trafficvehicles per day7,678
Trucks9.6%
Average travel time45.4 min
Congestion ratio17.7%
Drivers’ average age48.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income$63,219

Most travel in Lake County, Montana happens on highways, 73% of all vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 7,678 vehicles per day, 237% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 2,281 vehicles per day.

With 45% of the road miles (95 miles in 724 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 640,435 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈234 million per year).

By highway travel volume, Lake outranks 83% of counties in Montana.

Lower highway truck share than 98% of counties in Montana

Highway truck concentration here runs 36% lower than the state average, at 9.6%. Highways here mostly serve passenger trips, so local access matters more than long-haul routing for logistics operators.

Lake's highway truck share (9.6%) is lower than 98% of counties in Montana. Lake's highway truck count is higher than 74% of counties in Montana, at roughly 736 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Lake County, Montana

Trafficvehicles per day2,281
Trucks7.7%
Average travel time36.1 min
Congestion ratio6.3%
Drivers’ average age52.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income$61,125

Local roads carry a smaller share of travel in Lake County, Montana, 27% of vehicle-miles; most driving happens on highways. The average non-highway road carries 2,281 vehicles per day.

Local roads make up 55% of the monitored road miles (113 miles in 1,205 segments) but carry less than their share of travel: 234,803 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈85.7 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 7.7%.

Local congestion 48% below the Montana average

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

Non-highway congestion (6.3%) runs 48% lower than the state average, pointing to smoother local traffic flow.

60% of counties in Montana see higher average driver income among trip origins than Lake. The driver population here skews younger than 64% of counties in Montana.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
AM peak 9:00 AM–12:00 PM and PM peak 3:00 PM–6:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 94% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekend traffic is about as busy as on weekdays (-5%): 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 -31% versus the annual average - the usual winter low.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

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

Lake County vs. Montana Traffic Comparison

Lake County's biggest difference from the Montana average is its highway truck share, 36% below it. Its truck share is also 22% below.

MetricLake CountyMontana averageDifference
Traffic4,3074,202+2.5%
Truck % (Total Traffic)9.1%11.7%-22.2%
Truck % (Highway)9.6%15.0%-36.0%
Avg. Travel Time39.6 min36.2 min+9.5%

How Lake County compares

Lake County against nearby counties

Nothing in this table sets Lake County sharply apart from the 4 areas nearest to it, though it has the third busiest roads of the five. The same kind of road, just less of it: traffic per road matches the areas around it while the network itself is smaller.

Lake County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Montana average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Lake County4,3079.1%875,23739.6 min10.6%
Missoula County, Montana7,2769.8%2,532,44735.0 min16.8%
Sanders County, Montana1,9199.6%320,95338.0 min5.9%
Flathead County, Montana6,4326.3%2,417,95535.8 min16.4%
Mineral County, Montana1,95725.8%513,08648.6 min6.4%
Montana average4,20211.7%N/A36.2 min12.3%

Lake County ranked within Montana

Lake County sits in the bottom quarter of the Montana field on truck share on highways, at #46 of 47.

Lake County ranked among 56 county-level areas in Montana (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 47.
MeasureLake CountyMontana rank
Traffic volume (AADT)4,307#7 of 56
Highway vehicle-miles per day640,435#9 of 47
Truck share on highways9.6%#46 of 47
Highway trucks per day736#13 of 47
Average travel time39.6 min#28 of 56
Average driver income$62,720#34 of 56
Average driver age49.0 yrs#36 of 56

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #7 of 56 on average daily traffic volume, against #46 of 47 on truck share on highways.

Busiest roads in Lake County, Montana

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 12,703 vehicles a day, against 4,307 on the average road in Lake County.

3rd Avenue leads with 14,907 vehicles a day, 924 of them trucks (6.2%). It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Drivers on Culloyah Street are noticeably younger, with a median age of 41.0 against 49.0 across the county.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
13rd AvenueTrunk road · 14,907vehicles924trucks · 6.2%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
33.6%
Median trip time
28.6 min
Drivers’ median age
50.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$59,405

Delays build on 3rd Avenue: its congestion ratio of 34% over free-flow time is well above the county's 11%.

22nd AvenueTrunk road · 13,294vehicles866trucks · 6.5%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
29.8%
Median trip time
30.4 min
Drivers’ median age
50.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$59,869

Travel on 2nd Avenue's busiest stretch runs 30% over free-flow time, against 11% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

3US 93Trunk road · 9,907vehicles890trucks · 9.0%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
24.5%
Median trip time
38.1 min
Drivers’ median age
48.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$61,024

US 93 carries 2.3 times the county average at its busiest, 890 of them trucks (9.0%, in line with the county-wide 9.1%).

4Polson BridgeTrunk road · 9,442vehicles626trucks · 6.6%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
21.5%
Median trip time
33.4 min
Drivers’ median age
50.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$62,257

Polson Bridge carries 2.2 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 33.4 minutes.

5Culloyah StreetTrunk road · 6,774vehicles550trucks · 8.1%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
19.8%
Median trip time
40.9 min
Drivers’ median age
41.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$69,518

Culloyah Street carries 57% more than the county average at its busiest, 550 of them trucks (8.1%, below the county-wide 9.1%).

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
13rd AvenueTrunk road · #1 by traffic14,907vehicles924trucks · 6.2%
2US 93Trunk road · #3 by traffic9,907vehicles890trucks · 9.0%
32nd AvenueTrunk road · #2 by traffic13,294vehicles866trucks · 6.5%
4Polson BridgeTrunk road · #4 by traffic9,442vehicles626trucks · 6.6%
5Culloyah StreetTrunk road · #5 by traffic6,774vehicles550trucks · 8.1%
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, Montana.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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