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Traffic heat map of McDowell County, West Virginia: 103 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Main Street and US 52

McDowell County, West Virginia Traffic Counts

How busy are the roads of McDowell County, West Virginia? We measure 103 road miles, divided into 864 segments, with multi-sourced, cross-verified mobile and sensor data. Its drivers come from the lowest-income neighborhoods of any county in West Virginia, averaging $32,624. 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 McDowell County, West Virginia

Traffic

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

vehicles per day3,397
Trucks

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

11.5%
Average travel time

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

39.9 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.

47.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$32,624

The average monitored road in McDowell County, West Virginia carries 3,397 vehicles per day. Across its 103 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 305,598 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈112 million per year). About 1 in 9 vehicles is a truck, in line with West Virginia (11.0%).

Longer trips than 98% of counties in West Virginia

McDowell's average daily traffic volume is 54% lower than the state average - 3,397 vehicles per day against 7,367 - suggesting less traffic load per road - quiet roads that suit freight movement more than drive-by retail. Network-wide, McDowell accounts for about 0.4% of West Virginia's statewide total of vehicle-miles. By volume, McDowell's 3,397 vehicles per day trails 81% of counties in West Virginia.

The average trip takes 39.9 minutes, 30% higher than the state level. 98% of counties in West Virginia have a shorter average travel time than McDowell's 39.9 minutes.

At 51% lower than the state level, the 10.6% congestion ratio signals smoother traffic flow - free-flowing roads make scheduled deliveries highly predictable.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In McDowell County, West Virginia, the peak hour concentrates about 8% of the day's traffic.

McDowell County vs. West Virginia Traffic Comparison

The average daily traffic per road sets McDowell County apart: 54% below the West Virginia average. Its average travel time, by contrast, is 30% above.

MetricMcDowell CountyWest Virginia averageDifference
Traffic3,3977,367-53.9%
Truck % (Total Traffic)11.5%11.0%+4.0%
Avg. Travel Time39.9 min30.8 min+29.7%

How McDowell County compares

Trips in McDowell County run longer than in any nearby county

Against the 4 nearest areas, McDowell County moves 26.0% of the total daily travel and sees 33.9% longer typical trips; it has the third busiest roads of the five.

McDowell County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the West Virginia average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
McDowell County3,39711.5%305,59839.9 min10.6%
Tazewell County, Virginia2,7878.6%851,63529.0 min11.0%
Wyoming County, West Virginia4,6709.8%537,78027.6 min22.0%
Buchanan County, Virginia1,3749.2%141,26228.3 minN/A
Mercer County, West Virginia7,69013.7%3,165,21534.2 min22.3%
West Virginia average7,36711.0%N/A30.8 min21.5%

McDowell County ranked within West Virginia

McDowell County sits in West Virginia's top three on average travel time.

McDowell County ranked among 55 county-level areas in West Virginia (1 = highest).
MeasureMcDowell CountyWest Virginia rank
Traffic volume (AADT)3,397#45 of 55
Average travel time39.9 min#2 of 55
Average driver income$32,624#55 of 55
Average driver age47.0 yrs#51 of 55

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #2 of 55 on average travel time, against #55 of 55 on average driver income.

Busiest roads in McDowell County, West Virginia

The three busiest roads in McDowell County average 7,945 vehicles a day, 2.3 times the county average of 3,397 across all its monitored roads.

Main Street is the busiest road, at 9,103 vehicles a day, 982 of them trucks (10.8%). It also carries the most trucks.

Freight stands out on Mohawk Curves Road and Elkhorn: trucks are 100.0% and 23.4% of the traffic there, against 11.5% county-wide.

Trips using Elkhorn are long: a median of 68.9 minutes against 39.9 county-wide, the mark of a through route.

Mohawk Curves Road skews older: its drivers' median age is 57.3, compared with 47.0 county-wide.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Main StreetPrimary road · 9,103vehicles982trucks · 10.8%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
21.5%
Median trip time
44.6 min
Drivers’ median age
46.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$33,752

Delays build on Main Street: its congestion ratio of 22% over free-flow time is well above the county's 11%.

2US 52Primary road · 8,214vehicles900trucks · 11.0%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
20.8%
Median trip time
38.2 min
Drivers’ median age
48.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$32,244

Travel on US 52's busiest stretch runs 21% over free-flow time, against 11% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

3KimballPrimary road · 6,520vehicles661trucks · 10.1%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
15.5%
Median trip time
46.4 min
Drivers’ median age
47.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$31,482

Kimball carries 92% more than the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 46.4 minutes.

4Stewart StreetPrimary road · 4,820vehicles510trucks · 10.6%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
11.4%
Median trip time
40.0 min
Drivers’ median age
42.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$38,455

At 42% more than the county average, Stewart Street draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $38,455 in household income.

5Riverside DrivePrimary road · 4,578vehicles362trucks · 7.9%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
10.1%
Median trip time
30.9 min
Drivers’ median age
44.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$26,588

Riverside Drive is busy by local standards, at 35% more than the county average on its busiest stretch; trucks are 7.9% of it, below the county-wide 11.5%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Main StreetPrimary road · #1 by traffic9,103vehicles982trucks · 10.8%
2US 52Primary road · #2 by traffic8,214vehicles900trucks · 11.0%
3ElkhornPrimary road · 3,362vehicles787trucks · 23.4%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
68.9 min

Even at its busiest, Elkhorn carries about the same as the county average; trucks are 23.4% of it, above the county-wide 11.5%.

4KimballPrimary road · #3 by traffic6,520vehicles661trucks · 10.1%
5Mohawk Curves RoadTertiary road · 630vehicles630trucks · 100.0%
Road class
Tertiary road
Median trip time
68.5 min
Drivers’ median age
57.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$30,140

Mohawk Curves Road carries through traffic: the median trip using it lasts 68.5 minutes, against 39.9 for the county.

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

McDowellDepartment 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 McDowell County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to McDowell County, West Virginia.

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