Need segment-level traffic data?

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

Get insights →
Traffic heat map of New Hanover County, North Carolina: 379 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Cape Fear Memorial Bridge

New Hanover County, North Carolina Traffic Counts

It ranks among the top 3 counties in North Carolina for average daily traffic. This page breaks down traffic in New Hanover County, North Carolina across 379 miles of monitored roads split into 8,370 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
Find my place
total traffic icon

Total Traffic Volume & Performance in New Hanover County, North Carolina

Traffic

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

vehicles per day11,960
Trucks

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

5.2%
Average travel time

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

30.7 min
Congestion ratio

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

28.0%
Drivers’ average age

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

46.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$84,738

Our data shows 11,960 vehicles per day on the average road in New Hanover County, North Carolina, and 4,535,826 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈1.7 billion per year) across its 379 miles of monitored roads. Traffic here is mostly passenger cars: only 5.2% trucks, against 8.7% across North Carolina.

Busier roads than 99% of counties in North Carolina

At 11,960 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in New Hanover carries 89% more traffic than the state average of 6,332, suggesting more demand on each road - heavy exposure for roadside retail, and tight road space for deliveries. Network-wide, New Hanover accounts for about 1.7% of North Carolina's statewide total of vehicle-miles. 99% of counties in North Carolina see less traffic than New Hanover's 11,960 vehicles per day.

At 30.7 minutes, the average travel time matches the state level closely. 73% of counties in North Carolina have a longer average travel time than New Hanover's 30.7 minutes.

At 51% higher than the state level, the 28.0% congestion ratio signals more pronounced congestion - peak-hour routing and delivery windows need real slack here.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in New Hanover County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day21,233
Trucks6.7%
Average travel time32.5 min
Congestion ratio42.0%
Drivers’ average age46.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income$81,797

Highways carry about half of all travel in New Hanover County, North Carolina, 46% of vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 21,233 vehicles per day, 102% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 10,503 vehicles per day.

With 31% of the road miles (119 miles in 1,136 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 2,066,282 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈754 million per year).

82% of counties in North Carolina move less traffic on their highways.

Lower highway truck share than 97% of counties in North Carolina

The concentration of trucks on highways (6.7%) is 44% lower than the state average for similar road classifications. Highways here carry mainly commuter and local trips, with little through freight.

New Hanover's highway truck share (6.7%) is lower than 97% of counties in North Carolina. By raw truck volume, New Hanover carries more highway trucks than 56% of counties in North Carolina.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in New Hanover County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day10,503
Trucks3.8%
Average travel time30.5 min
Congestion ratio25.8%
Drivers’ average age45.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income$86,933

Local roads carry about half of all travel in New Hanover County, North Carolina, 54% of vehicle-miles. The average non-highway road carries 10,503 vehicles per day.

Local roads make up 69% of the monitored road miles (261 miles in 7,234 segments) but carry less than their share of travel: 2,469,544 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈901 million per year). Trucks make up 3.8% of non-highway traffic, about 1 in 26 vehicles.

Drivers from higher-income areas than 90% of counties in North Carolina

Compared to highways, non-highway routes see 43% fewer trucks by share.

At 46% higher than the state level, the non-highway congestion ratio of 25.8% signals more friction on local roads.

Trip origins here have higher average income than 90% of counties in North Carolina. New Hanover's median driver age is lower than 81% of counties in North Carolina.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
AM peak 10:00 AM–12:00 PM and PM peak 4:00 PM–6:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 73% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekends are somewhat quieter: volumes run about 14% below weekday levels, the usual weekend dip.
seasonal traffic icon
Seasonal Fluctuation
Busy season:
June–August is the high season, with volumes +12% versus the annual average.
Lowest month:
January is the quietest month, with volumes -15% versus the annual average - the usual winter low.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

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

New Hanover County vs. North Carolina Traffic Comparison

New Hanover County's biggest difference from the North Carolina average is its average daily traffic per road, 89% above it. Its highway truck share, by contrast, is 44% below.

MetricNew Hanover CountyNorth Carolina averageDifference
Traffic11,9606,332+88.9%
Truck % (Total Traffic)5.2%8.7%-41.0%
Truck % (Highway)6.7%12.1%-44.2%
Avg. Travel Time30.7 min32.3 min-4.8%

How New Hanover County compares

New Hanover County has the busiest roads among its nearby counties

Against the 4 nearest areas, New Hanover County carries 62.4% more traffic on a typical road and is 45.4% more congested; it has the busiest roads of the five. It is where traffic concentrates in this corner of the map - the local bottleneck, with more vehicles per road AND less room to absorb them.

New Hanover 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
New Hanover County11,9605.2%4,535,82630.7 min28.0%
Pender County, North Carolina7,3278.6%2,438,87027.4 min20.0%
Brunswick County, North Carolina8,4246.0%4,580,42030.5 min22.9%
Columbus County, North Carolina4,10710.1%1,870,92343.6 min13.0%
Onslow County, North Carolina9,6026.0%3,826,28431.8 min21.0%
North Carolina average6,3328.7%N/A32.3 min18.6%

New Hanover County ranked within North Carolina

New Hanover County sits in North Carolina's top three on average daily traffic volume.

New Hanover 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.
MeasureNew Hanover CountyNorth Carolina rank
Traffic volume (AADT)11,960#2 of 100
Highway vehicle-miles per day2,066,282#18 of 97
Truck share on highways6.7%#94 of 97
Highway trucks per day1,431#43 of 97
Average travel time30.7 min#73 of 100
Average driver income$84,738#11 of 100
Average driver age46.1 yrs#81 of 100

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #2 of 100 on average daily traffic volume, against #94 of 97 on truck share on highways.

Busiest roads in New Hanover County, North Carolina

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 46,827 vehicles a day, against 11,960 on the average road in New Hanover County.

Cape Fear Memorial Bridge leads with 54,416 vehicles a day, 3,651 of them trucks (6.7%). It also carries the most trucks.

Freight stands out on I 40: trucks are 10.2% of the traffic there, against 5.2% county-wide.

Trips using Wilmington Bypass are long: a median of 47.4 minutes against 30.7 county-wide, the mark of a through route.

Traffic and freight follow different roads here: only 2 of the five busiest roads also make the top 5 for trucks.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Cape Fear Memorial BridgeMotorway · 54,416vehicles3,651trucks · 6.7%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
66.2%
Median trip time
33.9 min
Drivers’ median age
48.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$77,100

Delays build on Cape Fear Memorial Bridge: its congestion ratio of 66% over free-flow time is well above the county's 28%.

2Market StreetTrunk road · 43,338vehicles2,768trucks · 6.4%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
51.7%
Median trip time
35.3 min
Drivers’ median age
44.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$93,613

Travel on Market Street's busiest stretch runs 52% over free-flow time, against 28% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

3College RoadTrunk road · 42,727vehicles1,078trucks · 2.5%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
51.6%
Median trip time
31.5 min
Drivers’ median age
46.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$81,582

College Road carries 3.6 times the county average at its busiest, 1,078 of them trucks (2.5%, below the county-wide 5.2%).

4US 17Trunk road · 42,389vehicles2,359trucks · 5.6%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
50.3%
Median trip time
34.5 min
Drivers’ median age
44.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$92,491

US 17 carries 3.5 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 34.5 minutes.

5Martin Luther King Jr ParkwayMotorway · 38,023vehicles2,457trucks · 6.5%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
36.2%
Median trip time
33.3 min
Drivers’ median age
46.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$77,941

At 3.2 times the county average, Martin Luther King Jr Parkway draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $77,941 in household income.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Cape Fear Memorial BridgeMotorway · #1 by traffic54,416vehicles3,651trucks · 6.7%
2I 40Motorway · 33,960vehicles3,446trucks · 10.2%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
32.3%
Median trip time
42.8 min
Drivers’ median age
46.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$78,093

Drivers on I 40 are on long journeys, a median 42.8 minutes against 30.7 county-wide: a through route more than a local street.

3Market StreetTrunk road · #2 by traffic43,338vehicles2,768trucks · 6.4%
4Andrew Jackson HighwayTrunk road · 37,040vehicles2,576trucks · 7.0%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
42.0%
Median trip time
39.2 min
Drivers’ median age
47.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$78,420

The busiest stretch of Andrew Jackson Highway carries 3.1 times the county average; trucks are 7.0% of it, above the county-wide 5.2%.

5Wilmington BypassMotorway · 24,574vehicles2,482trucks · 10.1%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
23.7%
Median trip time
47.4 min
Drivers’ median age
46.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$85,863

On its busiest stretch, Wilmington Bypass carries 2.1 times the county average; trucks are 10.1% of it, above the county-wide 5.2%.

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

New HanoverDepartment 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.
link arrow icon
Data current as of:
Q3 2026

Explore further

TrafficZoom platform

— street-level analytics and custom corridor reports.

Map AI

— demographics, housing and mobility data.

Counties near New Hanover County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to New Hanover County, North Carolina.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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