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Traffic heat map of Nueces County, Texas: 1,042 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Padre Island Drive and I 37

Nueces County, Texas Traffic Counts

TrafficZoom tracks traffic on 1,042 road miles in Nueces County, Texas, divided into 16,289 segments averaging 338 ft. Its busiest road, Padre Island Drive, carries 75,985 vehicles a day, 9.5 times the average road. Built from cross-verified mobile and road-sensor data, these counts help you size up a retail site, plan logistics routes or assess infrastructure needs.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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total traffic icon

Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Nueces County, Texas

Traffic

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

vehicles per day7,968
Trucks

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

8.5%
Average travel time

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

30.4 min
Congestion ratio

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

23.1%
Drivers’ average age

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

43.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$75,546

A typical monitored road in Nueces County, Texas sees 7,968 vehicles per day, while its 1,042 miles of monitored roads together handle 7,963,548 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈2.9 billion per year). Trucks are 8.5% of traffic, close to the 9.8% across Texas.

Busier roads than 94% of counties in Texas

At 7,968 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Nueces carries 16% more traffic than the state average of 6,895, suggesting more demand on each road - a critical factor for logistics and site planning. Across the whole network, that travel is about 1.1% of Texas's statewide total. Nueces carries more traffic than 94% of counties in Texas.

Journey times run 7% lower than the state level, at 30.4 minutes on average. On travel time, Nueces runs shorter than 92% of counties in Texas.

Congestion runs 41% higher than the state level, at a ratio of 23.1%, which means more pronounced congestion - a factor for delivery windows and signal timing.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Nueces County, Texas

Trafficvehicles per day18,928
Trucks12.3%
Average travel time33.0 min
Congestion ratio28.5%
Drivers’ average age44.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income$73,340

Travel in Nueces County, Texas splits roughly evenly, with about half of it (48% of vehicle-miles) on highways. The average highway carries 18,928 vehicles per day, 160% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 7,274 vehicles per day.

With 20% of the road miles (208 miles in 970 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 3,817,857 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈1.4 billion per year).

93% of counties in Texas move less traffic on their highways.

Lower highway truck share than 73% of counties in Texas

At 12.3%, highway truck share is 11% lower than the state average. The highway traffic mix is typical for Texas: neither freight- nor commuter-dominated.

73% of counties in Texas see a higher highway truck share than Nueces's 12.3%. By raw truck volume, Nueces carries more highway trucks than 73% of counties in Texas.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Nueces County, Texas

Trafficvehicles per day7,274
Trucks5.0%
Average travel time30.2 min
Congestion ratio22.8%
Drivers’ average age42.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income$77,035

Travel in Nueces County, Texas splits roughly evenly, with about half of it (52% of vehicle-miles) on local roads. On the average non-highway road, that comes to 7,274 vehicles per day.

Local roads make up 80% of the monitored road miles (835 miles in 15,319 segments) but carry less than their share of travel: 4,145,691 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈1.5 billion per year). About 1 in 20 vehicles on non-highway roads is a truck (5.0%).

Local congestion 42% above the Texas average

The concentration of trucks on non-highway roads is 59% lower than on highways.

Non-highway congestion (22.8%) runs 42% higher than the state average, pointing to slower local traffic flow.

Trip origins here have higher average income than 69% of counties in Texas. Nueces's median driver age is lower than 71% of counties in Texas.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
A long morning plateau from 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM and PM peak 4:00 PM–7:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 64% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekends are much quieter: volumes run about 21% below weekday levels, the signature of a commute-driven road network.
seasonal traffic icon
Seasonal Fluctuation
Busy season:
June–August is the high season, with volumes +4% versus the annual average.
Lowest month:
April is the quietest month, with volumes -9% versus the annual average.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Nueces County, Texas, the peak hour concentrates about 7% of the day's traffic, and there is a noticeable seasonal swing of +4% in high season.

Nueces County vs. Texas Traffic Comparison

Nueces County's biggest difference from the Texas average is its average daily traffic per road, 16% above it.

MetricNueces CountyTexas averageDifference
Traffic7,9686,895+15.6%
Truck % (Total Traffic)8.5%9.8%-13.0%
Truck % (Highway)12.3%13.8%-10.7%
Avg. Travel Time30.4 min32.6 min-6.9%

How Nueces County compares

Nueces County moves more traffic than any nearby county

Against the 4 nearest areas, Nueces County moves 6.6 times the total daily travel and is 73.7% 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.

Nueces County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Texas average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Nueces County7,9688.5%7,963,54830.4 min23.1%
San Patricio County, Texas4,60113.1%2,156,70532.2 min12.8%
Kleberg County, Texas5,00114.3%824,93636.3 min13.9%
Jim Wells County, Texas3,77517.2%1,240,77936.5 min10.4%
Aransas County, Texas4,8956.4%580,74629.1 min16.2%
Texas average6,8959.8%N/A32.6 min16.4%

Nueces County ranked within Texas

Average daily traffic volume places Nueces County #16 of 254 in Texas - the top quarter of the state.

Nueces County ranked among 254 county-level areas in Texas (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 227.
MeasureNueces CountyTexas rank
Traffic volume (AADT)7,968#16 of 254
Highway vehicle-miles per day3,817,857#16 of 227
Truck share on highways12.3%#166 of 227
Highway trucks per day2,324#63 of 227
Average travel time30.4 min#235 of 254
Average driver income$75,546#79 of 254
Average driver age43.2 yrs#180 of 254

Nueces County ranks #16 of 254 on average daily traffic volume but #235 of 254 on average travel time. Heavy traffic and short trips together: a compact network where destinations sit close to one another.

Busiest roads in Nueces County, Texas

On their busiest stretches, the three busiest roads in Nueces County carry 59,001 vehicles a day on average, 7.4 times the typical road in the county (7,968).

Padre Island Drive is the busiest road, at 75,985 vehicles a day, 5,209 of them trucks (6.9%). That is 50% more than the next road, I 37 (50,584). US 77 carries the most trucks, 6,809 a day (29.0% of its traffic), although it is not among the 5 busiest roads overall.

Freight stands out on US 77: trucks are 29.0% of the traffic there, against 8.5% county-wide.

Trips using US 77 are long: a median of 47.2 minutes against 30.4 county-wide, the mark of a through route.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Padre Island DriveMotorway · 75,985vehicles5,209trucks · 6.9%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
57.3%
Median trip time
31.0 min
Drivers’ median age
44.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$73,955

Delays build on Padre Island Drive: its congestion ratio of 57% over free-flow time is well above the county's 23%.

2I 37Motorway · 50,584vehicles6,143trucks · 12.1%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
39.0%
Median trip time
35.9 min
Drivers’ median age
43.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,702

I 37 carries 6.3 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 35.9 minutes.

3Nueces Bay CausewayMotorway · 50,434vehicles5,390trucks · 10.7%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
39.0%
Median trip time
31.5 min
Drivers’ median age
44.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,933

Travel on Nueces Bay Causeway's busiest stretch runs 39% over free-flow time, against 23% across the county, so expect slower peak hours.

4Harbor BridgeMotorway · 50,238vehicles6,148trucks · 12.2%
Road class
Motorway
Median trip time
32.2 min
Drivers’ median age
44.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$71,292

At 6.3 times the county average, Harbor Bridge draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $71,292 in household income.

5US 181Motorway · 42,712vehicles4,312trucks · 10.1%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
32.2%
Median trip time
32.5 min
Drivers’ median age
44.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$73,497

A main artery: US 181's busiest stretch carries 5.4 times the county average; trucks are 10.1% of it, above the county-wide 8.5%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1US 77Motorway · 23,509vehicles6,809trucks · 29.0%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
26.7%
Median trip time
47.2 min
Drivers’ median age
44.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,047

On its busiest stretch, US 77 carries 3.0 times the county average; trucks are 29.0% of it, above the county-wide 8.5%.

2Harbor BridgeMotorway · #4 by traffic50,238vehicles6,148trucks · 12.2%
3I 37Motorway · #2 by traffic50,584vehicles6,143trucks · 12.1%
4Nueces Bay CausewayMotorway · #3 by traffic50,434vehicles5,390trucks · 10.7%
5Padre Island DriveMotorway · #1 by traffic75,985vehicles5,209trucks · 6.9%
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

NuecesDepartment 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 Nueces County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Nueces County, Texas.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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