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Traffic heat map of Onslow County, North Carolina: 462 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on KIA/MIA/POW Freeway

Onslow County, North Carolina Traffic Counts

Our Onslow County, North Carolina traffic data covers 5,654 road segments over 462 road miles, with an average segment of just 431 ft. Its drivers are the youngest of any county in North Carolina, a median 37 years. Whether you are evaluating a new retail location, planning routes or assessing infrastructure, these numbers replace guesswork.
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 Onslow County, North Carolina

Traffic

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

vehicles per day9,602
Trucks

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

6.0%
Average travel time

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

31.8 min
Congestion ratio

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

21.0%
Drivers’ average age

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

36.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$71,494

The average monitored road in Onslow County, North Carolina carries 9,602 vehicles per day. Across its 462 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 3,826,284 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈1.4 billion per year). Trucks are a smaller part of the mix than across North Carolina: 6.0% against 8.7%.

Busier roads than 96% of counties in North Carolina

At 9,602 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Onslow carries 52% more traffic than the state average of 6,332, suggesting more demand on each road - prime passing trade for storefronts, with more competition for road space. Across the whole network, that travel is about 1.4% of North Carolina's statewide total. By volume, Onslow's 9,602 vehicles per day outpaces 96% of counties in North Carolina.

Journey times here (31.8 minutes on average) closely track the state level. 57% of counties in North Carolina have a longer average travel time than Onslow's 31.8 minutes.

Congestion is somewhat higher than the state level, at a ratio of 21.0% (13% higher) - crucial for traffic control improvement and logistics planning.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Onslow County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day16,602
Trucks7.5%
Average travel time32.5 min
Congestion ratio28.6%
Drivers’ average age37.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income$72,928

Highways carry about half of all travel in Onslow County, North Carolina, 51% of vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 16,602 vehicles per day, 113% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 7,793 vehicles per day.

Highways make up 33% of the monitored road miles (151 miles, 1,161 segments), so they carry more than their share: 1,948,966 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈711 million per year).

By highway travel volume, Onslow outranks 79% of counties in North Carolina.

Lower highway truck share than 88% of counties in North Carolina

At 7.5%, highway truck share is 38% lower than the state average. Highways here mostly serve passenger trips, so local access matters more than long-haul routing for logistics operators.

Onslow's highway truck share (7.5%) is lower than 88% of counties in North Carolina. Onslow's highway truck count is lower than 57% of counties in North Carolina, at roughly 1,238 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Onslow County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day7,793
Trucks4.6%
Average travel time31.6 min
Congestion ratio19.1%
Drivers’ average age35.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income$70,328

Local roads carry about half of all travel in Onslow County, North Carolina, 49% of vehicle-miles. On the average non-highway road, that comes to 7,793 vehicles per day.

Spread over 311 miles and 4,493 segments, 67% of the road network, local roads carry a lighter load per mile: 1,877,319 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈685 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 4.6%.

The youngest drivers of any county in North Carolina

The concentration of trucks on non-highway roads is 39% lower than on highways.

Non-highway congestion (19.1%) runs slightly higher than the state level (8% higher).

73% of counties in North Carolina see lower average driver income among trip origins than Onslow. Drivers here also skew toward the lowest median age in North Carolina, at 37 years.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

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

Onslow County vs. North Carolina Traffic Comparison

The average daily traffic per road sets Onslow County apart: 52% above the North Carolina average. Its highway truck share, by contrast, is 38% below.

MetricOnslow CountyNorth Carolina averageDifference
Traffic9,6026,332+51.6%
Truck % (Total Traffic)6.0%8.7%-30.8%
Truck % (Highway)7.5%12.1%-38.2%
Avg. Travel Time31.8 min32.3 min-1.6%

How Onslow County compares

Onslow County moves more traffic than any nearby county

Compared with its 4 closest neighbours, Onslow County carries 86.5% more traffic on a typical road and is 41.4% 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.

Onslow 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
Onslow County9,6026.0%3,826,28431.8 min21.0%
Jones County, North Carolina3,80010.1%859,52042.6 min10.3%
Pender County, North Carolina7,3278.6%2,438,87027.4 min20.0%
Craven County, North Carolina5,9327.4%2,360,09931.8 min17.4%
Duplin County, North Carolina3,52911.2%2,005,17138.6 min11.9%
North Carolina average6,3328.7%N/A32.3 min18.6%

Onslow County ranked within North Carolina

No county-level area in North Carolina records a lower average driver age than Onslow County.

Onslow 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.
MeasureOnslow CountyNorth Carolina rank
Traffic volume (AADT)9,602#5 of 100
Highway vehicle-miles per day1,948,966#21 of 97
Truck share on highways7.5%#85 of 97
Highway trucks per day1,238#56 of 97
Average travel time31.8 min#57 of 100
Average driver income$71,494#28 of 100
Average driver age36.8 yrs#100 of 100

Onslow County ranks #5 of 100 on average daily traffic volume but #100 of 100 on average driver age - the two describe the same roads and are worth reading together rather than either on its own.

Busiest roads in Onslow County, North Carolina

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 38,042 vehicles a day, against 9,602 on the average road in Onslow County.

KIA/MIA/POW Freeway leads with 41,470 vehicles a day, 4,095 of them trucks (9.9%). It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Trips on Ronald W. Reagan Freeway are short, a median of 20.2 minutes against 31.8 county-wide, so it serves mostly local traffic.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1KIA/MIA/POW FreewayMotorway · 41,470vehicles4,095trucks · 9.9%
Road class
Motorway
Median trip time
23.8 min
Drivers’ median age
33.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$64,809

KIA/MIA/POW Freeway is a local road at heart: the median trip using it lasts 23.8 minutes, against 31.8 for the county.

2Louis W. Sewell, Jr. BridgeMotorway · 38,127vehicles3,857trucks · 10.1%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
22.9%
Median trip time
21.3 min
Drivers’ median age
32.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$65,198

Trips on Louis W. Sewell, Jr. Bridge are short, a median 21.3 minutes against 31.8 county-wide, so it mostly serves local errands and commutes.

3Lejeune BoulevardTrunk road · 34,529vehicles2,046trucks · 5.9%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
32.2%
Median trip time
26.8 min
Drivers’ median age
35.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$65,494

Lejeune Boulevard is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 32% longer than at free-flow speed, against 21% county-wide.

4Ronald W. Reagan FreewayMotorway · 31,962vehicles2,496trucks · 7.8%
Road class
Motorway
Congestion ratio
28.8%
Median trip time
20.2 min
Drivers’ median age
32.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$66,103

Ronald W. Reagan Freeway peaks at 31,962 vehicles a day, 3.3 times the county average; trucks are 7.8% of it, above the county-wide 6.0%.

5Corbett AvenueTrunk road · 29,857vehicles1,382trucks · 4.6%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
43.1%
Median trip time
31.0 min
Drivers’ median age
41.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$79,146

Delays build on Corbett Avenue: its congestion ratio of 43% over free-flow time is well above the county's 21%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1KIA/MIA/POW FreewayMotorway · #1 by traffic41,470vehicles4,095trucks · 9.9%
2Louis W. Sewell, Jr. BridgeMotorway · #2 by traffic38,127vehicles3,857trucks · 10.1%
3Ronald W. Reagan FreewayMotorway · #4 by traffic31,962vehicles2,496trucks · 7.8%
4Wilmington HighwayTrunk road · 26,385vehicles2,319trucks · 8.8%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
32.2%
Median trip time
36.8 min
Drivers’ median age
37.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$77,870

Wilmington Highway carries 2.7 times the county average at its busiest, 2,319 of them trucks (8.8%, above the county-wide 6.0%).

5Lejeune BoulevardTrunk road · #3 by traffic34,529vehicles2,046trucks · 5.9%
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

OnslowDepartment 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 Onslow County

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

Need segment-level traffic data?

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