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Traffic heat map of Mitchell County, Iowa: 224 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Main Street and 7th Street

Mitchell County, Iowa Traffic Counts

Traffic analytics for Mitchell County, Iowa, calculated from real-world mobile and sensor networks on 1,205 road segments (224 road miles, about 981 ft each). Its busiest road, Main Street, carries 3,946 vehicles a day, 3.6 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 Volume & Performance in Mitchell County, Iowa

Traffic

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

vehicles per day1,096
Trucks

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

9.2%
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.

5.2%
Drivers’ average age

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

51.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$74,704

The average monitored road in Mitchell County, Iowa carries 1,096 vehicles per day. Across its 224 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 178,151 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈65.0 million per year). About 1 in 11 vehicles is a truck, fewer than the 1 in 9 across Iowa.

Quieter roads than 89% of counties in Iowa

Mitchell sees 64% lower average daily traffic volume than the state average (1,096 vehicles per day against 3,042), suggesting less demand on each road - very light roads: easy truck access, but little passing trade for roadside retail. In total volume terms, its road network carries about 0.2% of Iowa's statewide total of vehicle-miles. Mitchell carries less traffic than 89% of counties in Iowa.

At 32.4 minutes, the average travel time matches the state level closely. 67% of counties in Iowa have a longer average travel time than Mitchell's 32.4 minutes.

The congestion ratio of 5.2% is 54% lower, pointing to smoother traffic flow than the state level - delays are rare enough to plan travel times almost to the minute.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
AM peak 7:00 AM–8:00 AM and PM peak 3:00 PM–6:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 80% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekends are much quieter: volumes run about 26% below weekday levels, the signature of a commute-driven road network.
seasonal traffic icon
Seasonal Fluctuation
Busy season:
May–July is the high season, with volumes +12% versus the annual average.
Lowest month:
January is the quietest month, with volumes -18% versus the annual average - the usual winter low.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Mitchell County, Iowa, the peak hour concentrates about 7% of the day's traffic, and there is a strong seasonal swing of +12% in high season.

Mitchell County vs. Iowa Traffic Comparison

Mitchell County's biggest difference from the Iowa average is its average daily traffic per road, 64% below it. Its truck share is also 17% below.

MetricMitchell CountyIowa averageDifference
Traffic1,0963,042-64.0%
Truck % (Total Traffic)9.2%11.0%-16.8%
Avg. Travel Time32.4 min33.0 min-1.8%

How Mitchell County compares

Mitchell County has the lowest truck share of its nearby counties

Set against the average of the 4 areas nearest to it, Mitchell County moves 31.1% of the total daily travel and carries 29.5% less traffic on a typical road; it has the quietest roads of the five. Less traffic and more room for it - the roads here run both quieter and freer than the areas around them.

Mitchell County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Iowa average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Mitchell County1,0969.2%178,15132.4 min5.2%
Mower County, Minnesota1,92711.2%1,030,08933.8 min8.8%
Floyd County, Iowa1,81011.6%533,60837.2 min6.7%
Worth County, Iowa1,24418.8%527,60833.6 min5.3%
Howard County, Iowa1,24212.3%198,06233.6 min5.8%
Iowa average3,04211.0%N/A33.0 min11.4%

Mitchell County ranked within Iowa

Average daily traffic volume places Mitchell County #88 of 99 in Iowa - the bottom quarter of the state.

Mitchell County ranked among 99 county-level areas in Iowa (1 = highest).
MeasureMitchell CountyIowa rank
Traffic volume (AADT)1,096#88 of 99
Average travel time32.4 min#67 of 99
Average driver income$74,704#40 of 99
Average driver age51.4 yrs#29 of 99

Mitchell County ranks #29 of 99 on average driver age but #88 of 99 on average daily traffic volume - the two describe the same roads and are worth reading together rather than either on its own.

Busiest roads in Mitchell County, Iowa

On their busiest stretches, the three busiest roads in Mitchell County carry 3,405 vehicles a day on average, 3.1 times the typical road in the county (1,096).

Main Street is the busiest road, at 3,946 vehicles a day, 332 of them trucks (8.4%). It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Trips on 4th Street are short, a median of 21.4 minutes against 32.4 county-wide, so it serves mostly local traffic.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Main StreetPrimary road · 3,946vehicles332trucks · 8.4%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
8.0%
Median trip time
37.7 min
Drivers’ median age
50.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$67,687

Main Street carries 3.6 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 37.7 minutes.

27th StreetSecondary road · 3,418vehicles229trucks · 6.7%
Road class
Secondary road
Congestion ratio
8.7%
Median trip time
31.1 min
Drivers’ median age
53.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$68,928

At 3.1 times the county average, 7th Street draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $68,928 in household income.

34th StreetSecondary road · 2,851vehicles180trucks · 6.3%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
21.4 min
Drivers’ median age
52.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$86,263

The busiest stretch of 4th Street carries 2.6 times the county average; trucks are 6.3% of it, below the county-wide 9.2%.

4US 218Primary road · 2,080vehicles206trucks · 9.9%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
4.9%
Median trip time
27.9 min
Drivers’ median age
52.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$74,444

US 218 carries 90% more than the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 27.9 minutes.

5County Road T42Primary road · 2,073vehicles210trucks · 10.1%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
4.4%
Median trip time
41.4 min
Drivers’ median age
49.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$66,103

At 89% more than the county average, County Road T42 draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $66,103 in household income.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Main StreetPrimary road · #1 by traffic3,946vehicles332trucks · 8.4%
27th StreetSecondary road · #2 by traffic3,418vehicles229trucks · 6.7%
3County Road T42Primary road · #5 by traffic2,073vehicles210trucks · 10.1%
4US 218Primary road · #4 by traffic2,080vehicles206trucks · 9.9%
5IA 9Primary road · 1,945vehicles196trucks · 10.1%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
4.5%
Median trip time
39.4 min
Drivers’ median age
47.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$61,594

IA 9 is busy by local standards, at 77% more than the county average on its busiest stretch; trucks are 10.1% of it, above the county-wide 9.2%.

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

MitchellDepartment 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 Mitchell County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Mitchell County, Iowa.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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