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Traffic heat map of Lee County, Illinois: 412 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on I 39 and Palmyra Street

Lee County, Illinois Traffic Counts

How busy are the roads of Lee County, Illinois? We measure 412 road miles, divided into 2,437 segments, with multi-sourced, cross-verified mobile and sensor data. About 1 in 6 vehicles here is a truck, against 1 in 10 across Illinois. 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 Lee County, Illinois

Traffic

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

vehicles per day3,018
Trucks

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

17.2%
Average travel time

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

32.4 min
Congestion ratio

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

8.8%
Drivers’ average age

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

50.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$75,932

Our data shows 3,018 vehicles per day on the average road in Lee County, Illinois, and 1,487,962 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈543 million per year) across its 412 miles of monitored roads. Freight weighs heavily here: trucks are 17.2% of traffic, against 10.2% across Illinois.

Traffic 64% below the Illinois average

At 3,018 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Lee carries 64% less traffic than the state average of 8,480, suggesting less demand on each road - very light roads: easy truck access, but little passing trade for roadside retail. Across the whole network, that travel is about 0.6% of Illinois's statewide total. Lee carries more traffic than 52% of counties in Illinois.

The average trip takes 32.4 minutes, 5% lower than the state level. On travel time, Lee runs shorter than 70% of counties in Illinois.

At 57% lower than the state level, the 8.8% congestion ratio signals smoother traffic flow - delays are rare enough to plan travel times almost to the minute.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Lee County, Illinois

Trafficvehicles per day6,695
Trucks23.6%
Average travel time66.2 min
Congestion ratio14.7%
Drivers’ average age47.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income$75,445

A little more than half of the driving in Lee County, Illinois happens on highways: 59% of all vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 6,695 vehicles per day, 137% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 2,821 vehicles per day.

With 26% of the road miles (108 miles in 124 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 877,849 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈320 million per year).

That is more highway travel volume than 74% of counties in Illinois.

Freight-heavy highways

At 23.6%, highway truck share is 36% higher than the state average. Highways here lean toward freight, so highway access is a real asset for logistics operators.

Lee's highway truck share (23.6%) is higher than 64% of counties in Illinois. By raw truck volume, Lee carries fewer highway trucks than 53% of counties in Illinois.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Lee County, Illinois

Trafficvehicles per day2,821
Trucks7.9%
Average travel time30.6 min
Congestion ratio8.5%
Drivers’ average age50.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income$76,047

A significant share of driving in Lee County, Illinois, 41% of vehicle-miles, happens on local roads. A typical local road sees 2,821 vehicles per day.

Spread over 304 miles and 2,313 segments, 74% of the road network, local roads carry a lighter load per mile: 610,112 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈223 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 7.9%.

Local congestion 59% below the Illinois average

Non-highway roads carry a truck concentration that's 66% lower than the highway network.

The non-highway congestion ratio of 8.5% is 59% lower than the state level, suggesting more efficient local mobility than the state average.

62% of counties in Illinois see lower average driver income among trip origins than Lee. 65% of counties in Illinois have a younger driver population than Lee.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
AM peak 7:00 AM–8:00 AM and a long afternoon plateau from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 75% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekends are much quieter: volumes run about 31% below weekday levels, the signature of a commute-driven road network.
seasonal traffic icon
Seasonal Fluctuation
Busy season:
August–October is the high season, with volumes +6% versus the annual average.
Lowest month:
December is the quietest month, with volumes -9% versus the annual average - the usual winter low.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Lee County, Illinois, the peak hour concentrates about 7% of the day's traffic, and there is a noticeable seasonal swing of +6% in high season.

Lee County vs. Illinois Traffic Comparison

Lee County's biggest difference from the Illinois average is its truck share, 69% above it. Its average daily traffic per road, by contrast, is 64% below.

MetricLee CountyIllinois averageDifference
Traffic3,0188,480-64.4%
Truck % (Total Traffic)17.2%10.2%+68.7%
Truck % (Highway)23.6%17.3%+36.1%
Avg. Travel Time32.4 min34.1 min-5.0%

How Lee County compares

Lee County against nearby counties

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

Lee County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Illinois average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Lee County3,01817.2%1,487,96232.4 min8.8%
Ogle County, Illinois3,53216.1%1,600,41731.8 min10.2%
Bureau County, Illinois2,27323.2%1,346,25230.5 min8.3%
DeKalb County, Illinois5,2469.7%1,885,14432.2 min14.5%
Whiteside County, Illinois3,74112.9%1,256,20034.9 min10.9%
Illinois average8,48010.2%N/A34.1 min20.6%

Lee County ranked within Illinois

Lee County ranked among 102 county-level areas in Illinois (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 82.
MeasureLee CountyIllinois rank
Traffic volume (AADT)3,018#49 of 102
Highway vehicle-miles per day877,849#22 of 82
Truck share on highways23.6%#30 of 82
Highway trucks per day1,579#44 of 82
Average travel time32.4 min#72 of 102
Average driver income$75,932#39 of 102
Average driver age50.1 yrs#36 of 102

Busiest roads in Lee County, Illinois

On their busiest stretches, the three busiest roads in Lee County carry 16,258 vehicles a day on average, 5.4 times the typical road in the county (3,018).

I 39 leads with 18,333 vehicles a day, 4,746 of them trucks (25.9%). It also carries the most trucks.

Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway carries longer journeys than most roads here, with a median trip of 69.1 minutes against 32.4 county-wide.

Palmyra Street is busy with cars rather than freight: only 5.2% of its traffic is trucks, against 17.2% county-wide.

Trucks make up 25.9% of traffic on I 39, against 17.2% across all roads in the county.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1I 39Motorway · 18,333vehicles4,746trucks · 25.9%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
21.8%
Median trip time
63.5 min
Drivers’ median age
46.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$74,071

I 39 carries through traffic: the median trip using it lasts 63.5 minutes, against 32.4 for the county.

2Palmyra StreetPrimary road · 15,446vehicles808trucks · 5.2%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
18.2%
Median trip time
29.1 min
Drivers’ median age
50.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$77,488

Palmyra Street carries 5.1 times the county average at its busiest, 808 of them trucks (5.2%, below the county-wide 17.2%).

3Galena AvenuePrimary road · 14,996vehicles985trucks · 6.6%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
21.5%
Median trip time
31.2 min
Drivers’ median age
50.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$75,257

Galena Avenue is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 21% longer than at free-flow speed, against 9% county-wide.

4Everett StreetPrimary road · 14,849vehicles757trucks · 5.1%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
17.4%
Median trip time
28.7 min
Drivers’ median age
50.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$76,584

Everett Street carries 4.9 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 28.7 minutes.

5Ronald Reagan Memorial TollwayMotorway · 14,732vehicles3,154trucks · 21.4%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
13.2%
Median trip time
69.1 min
Drivers’ median age
48.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$76,537

At 4.9 times the county average, Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $76,537 in household income.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1I 39Motorway · #1 by traffic18,333vehicles4,746trucks · 25.9%
2Ronald Reagan Memorial TollwayMotorway · #5 by traffic14,732vehicles3,154trucks · 21.4%
3Galena AvenuePrimary road · #3 by traffic14,996vehicles985trucks · 6.6%
4Palmyra StreetPrimary road · #2 by traffic15,446vehicles808trucks · 5.2%
5IL 2Primary road · 11,926vehicles768trucks · 6.4%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
14.4%
Median trip time
30.0 min
Drivers’ median age
50.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$75,086

The busiest stretch of IL 2 carries 4.0 times the county average; trucks are 6.4% of it, below the county-wide 17.2%.

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

LeeDepartment 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 Lee County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Lee County, Illinois.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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