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Traffic heat map of Lee County, North Carolina: 251 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on NC 87 and Jefferson Davis Highway

Lee County, North Carolina Traffic Counts

Its busiest road, NC 87, carries 33,775 vehicles a day, 5.5 times the average road. This page breaks down traffic in Lee County, North Carolina across 251 miles of monitored roads split into 4,949 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 Lee County, North Carolina

Traffic

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

vehicles per day6,100
Trucks

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

8.6%
Average travel time

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

31.2 min
Congestion ratio

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

15.7%
Drivers’ average age

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

44.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$67,005

Our data shows 6,100 vehicles per day on the average road in Lee County, North Carolina, and 1,747,397 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈638 million per year) across its 251 miles of monitored roads. Trucks are 8.6% of traffic, close to the 8.7% across North Carolina.

Busier roads than 76% of counties in North Carolina

The average road in Lee carries 6,100 vehicles per day, essentially matching the state average of 6,332. Network-wide, Lee accounts for about 0.6% of North Carolina's statewide total of vehicle-miles. Lee carries more traffic than 76% of counties in North Carolina.

At 31.2 minutes, the average travel time matches the state level closely. 65% of counties in North Carolina have a longer average travel time than Lee's 31.2 minutes.

Congestion runs 15% lower than the state level, at a ratio of 15.7%, which means smoother traffic flow - relevant for traffic control and delivery planning.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Lee County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day14,247
Trucks10.8%
Average travel time39.4 min
Congestion ratio28.4%
Drivers’ average age44.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income$71,788

A little more than half of the driving in Lee County, North Carolina happens on highways: 63% of all vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 14,247 vehicles per day, 176% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 5,156 vehicles per day.

With 34% of the road miles (85 miles in 514 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 1,094,612 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈400 million per year).

58% of counties in North Carolina move less traffic on their highways.

A typical mix of freight and passenger traffic

Highway truck concentration here runs 10% lower than the state average, at 10.8%. The highway traffic mix is typical for North Carolina: neither freight- nor commuter-dominated.

By truck concentration, highways here trail 59% of counties in North Carolina. Lee's highway truck count is higher than 61% of counties in North Carolina, at roughly 1,543 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Lee County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day5,156
Trucks4.8%
Average travel time30.3 min
Congestion ratio14.3%
Drivers’ average age44.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income$62,527

A significant share of driving in Lee County, North Carolina, 37% of vehicle-miles, happens on local roads. The average non-highway road carries 5,156 vehicles per day.

Local roads make up 66% of the monitored road miles (166 miles in 4,435 segments) but carry less than their share of travel: 652,785 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈238 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 4.8%.

Younger drivers than 87% of counties in North Carolina

Compared to highways, non-highway routes see 55% fewer trucks by share.

Non-highway congestion (14.3%) runs 19% lower than the state average, pointing to smoother local traffic flow.

58% of counties in North Carolina see lower average driver income among trip origins than Lee. The driver population here skews younger than 87% of counties in North Carolina.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Lee County, North Carolina, the peak hour concentrates about 7% of the day's traffic.

Lee County vs. North Carolina Traffic Comparison

Lee County stays close to the North Carolina average; the largest gap is its highway truck share, 10% below.

MetricLee CountyNorth Carolina averageDifference
Traffic6,1006,332-3.7%
Truck % (Total Traffic)8.6%8.7%-1.6%
Truck % (Highway)10.8%12.1%-10.3%
Avg. Travel Time31.2 min32.3 min-3.3%

How Lee County compares

Lee County against nearby counties

Lee County tracks the 4 areas around it closely - no measure in this table sets it far apart from the areas immediately next to it, though it has the busiest roads of the five.

Lee 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
Lee County6,1008.6%1,747,39731.2 min15.7%
Moore County, North Carolina5,8326.2%2,413,04133.4 min19.1%
Chatham County, North Carolina3,8858.3%2,631,96932.5 min11.3%
Harnett County, North Carolina5,9209.4%3,292,61733.8 min14.7%
Hoke County, North Carolina5,7956.8%1,124,28933.2 min14.2%
North Carolina average6,3328.7%N/A32.3 min18.6%

Lee County ranked within North Carolina

Average driver age places Lee County #87 of 100 in North Carolina - the bottom quarter of the state.

Lee 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.
MeasureLee CountyNorth Carolina rank
Traffic volume (AADT)6,100#25 of 100
Highway vehicle-miles per day1,094,612#41 of 97
Truck share on highways10.8%#58 of 97
Highway trucks per day1,543#38 of 97
Average travel time31.2 min#65 of 100
Average driver income$67,005#43 of 100
Average driver age44.7 yrs#87 of 100

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #25 of 100 on average daily traffic volume, against #87 of 100 on average driver age.

Busiest roads in Lee County, North Carolina

On their busiest stretches, the three busiest roads in Lee County carry 30,117 vehicles a day on average, 4.9 times the typical road in the county (6,100).

NC 87 is the busiest road, at 33,775 vehicles a day, 2,510 of them trucks (7.4%). Sanford Bypass carries the most trucks, 3,297 a day (13.8% of its traffic), although it ranks #4 for all traffic.

Isaac Brooks Highway carries longer journeys than most roads here, with a median trip of 54.4 minutes against 31.2 county-wide.

Freight stands out on Isaac Brooks Highway and Boone Trail Road: trucks are 17.7% and 17.0% of the traffic there, against 8.6% county-wide.

Few trucks use Horner Boulevard: 4.2% of its traffic, under half the county's 8.6%.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1NC 87Trunk road · 33,775vehicles2,510trucks · 7.4%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
40.1%
Median trip time
36.9 min
Drivers’ median age
42.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$69,331

Travel on NC 87's busiest stretch runs 40% over free-flow time, against 16% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

2Jefferson Davis HighwayMotorway · 31,919vehicles3,291trucks · 10.3%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
29.0%
Median trip time
40.4 min
Drivers’ median age
45.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$75,851

Jefferson Davis Highway carries 5.2 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 40.4 minutes.

3Horner BoulevardPrimary road · 24,657vehicles1,040trucks · 4.2%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
29.1%
Median trip time
30.6 min
Drivers’ median age
43.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$57,617

Horner Boulevard is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 29% longer than at free-flow speed, against 16% county-wide.

4Sanford BypassMotorway · 23,984vehicles3,297trucks · 13.8%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
20.1%
Median trip time
47.1 min
Drivers’ median age
42.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$68,045

Sanford Bypass carries through traffic: the median trip using it lasts 47.1 minutes, against 31.2 for the county.

5Isaac Brooks HighwayMotorway · 17,094vehicles3,032trucks · 17.7%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
19.5%
Median trip time
54.4 min
Drivers’ median age
47.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$63,394

Isaac Brooks Highway carries 2.8 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 54.4 minutes.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Sanford BypassMotorway · #4 by traffic23,984vehicles3,297trucks · 13.8%
2Jefferson Davis HighwayMotorway · #2 by traffic31,919vehicles3,291trucks · 10.3%
3Isaac Brooks HighwayMotorway · #5 by traffic17,094vehicles3,032trucks · 17.7%
4NC 87Trunk road · #1 by traffic33,775vehicles2,510trucks · 7.4%
5Boone Trail RoadMotorway · 14,780vehicles2,508trucks · 17.0%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
16.4%
Median trip time
54.0 min
Drivers’ median age
47.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$64,097

Drivers on Boone Trail Road are on long journeys, a median 54.0 minutes against 31.2 county-wide: a through route more than a local street.

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, North Carolina.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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