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Traffic heat map of Shelby County, Iowa: 221 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on Chatburn Avenue and 23rd Street

Shelby County, Iowa Traffic Counts

Its busiest road, Chatburn Avenue, carries 5,604 vehicles a day, 4.1 times the average road. This page breaks down traffic in Shelby County, Iowa across 221 miles of monitored roads split into 2,254 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
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Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Shelby County, Iowa

Traffic

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

vehicles per day1,380
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.

32.9 min
Drivers’ average age

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

52.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$71,120

The average monitored road in Shelby County, Iowa carries 1,380 vehicles per day. Across its 221 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 250,651 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈91.5 million per year). Trucks are a smaller part of the mix than across Iowa: 9.2% against 11.0%.

Traffic 55% below the Iowa average

Shelby sees 55% lower average daily traffic volume than the state average (1,380 vehicles per day against 3,042), suggesting less demand on each road - quiet roads that suit freight movement more than drive-by retail. Network-wide, Shelby accounts for about 0.3% of Iowa's statewide total of vehicle-miles. 66% of counties in Iowa see more traffic than Shelby's 1,380 vehicles per day.

Journey times here (32.9 minutes on average) closely track the state level. On travel time, Shelby runs shorter than 57% of counties in Iowa.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

peak hours icon
Peak Traffic Windows
Weekday peaks:
AM peak 7:00 AM–8:00 AM and a long afternoon plateau from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, with volumes reaching approximately 73% higher than the daily average.
Weekend traffic:
Weekends are somewhat quieter: volumes run about 18% below weekday levels, the usual weekend dip.
seasonal traffic icon
Seasonal Fluctuation
Busy season:
April–June is the high season, with volumes +5% versus the annual average.
Lowest month:
January is the quietest month, with volumes -12% versus the annual average - the usual winter low.

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Shelby County, Iowa, the peak hour concentrates about 7% of the day's traffic, and there is a noticeable seasonal swing of +5% in high season.

Shelby County vs. Iowa Traffic Comparison

Of the four measures, average daily traffic per road differs most: Shelby County runs 55% below the Iowa average. Its truck share is also 17% below.

MetricShelby CountyIowa averageDifference
Traffic1,3803,042-54.6%
Truck % (Total Traffic)9.2%11.0%-16.8%
Avg. Travel Time32.9 min33.0 min-0.5%

How Shelby County compares

Shelby County against nearby counties

Set against the average of the 4 areas nearest to it, Shelby County moves 22.4% of the total daily travel and carries 36.8% less traffic on a typical road; it has the fourth busiest roads of the five. Quieter and more local than the areas around it on both counts: less traffic, and less of what there is arriving by truck.

Shelby 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
Shelby County1,3809.2%250,65132.9 minN/A
Audubon County, Iowa1,32212.2%150,31633.5 min4.6%
Crawford County, Iowa1,4229.9%368,22437.9 minN/A
Harrison County, Iowa2,05015.4%854,64935.6 minN/A
Pottawattamie County, Iowa3,94015.7%3,112,04032.1 minN/A
Iowa average3,04211.0%N/A33.0 min11.4%

Shelby County ranked within Iowa

Average driver age places Shelby County #11 of 99 in Iowa - the top quarter of the state.

Shelby County ranked among 99 county-level areas in Iowa (1 = highest).
MeasureShelby CountyIowa rank
Traffic volume (AADT)1,380#66 of 99
Average travel time32.9 min#57 of 99
Average driver income$71,120#58 of 99
Average driver age52.6 yrs#11 of 99

Busiest roads in Shelby County, Iowa

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 4,883 vehicles a day, against 1,380 on the average road in Shelby County.

Chatburn Avenue is the busiest road, at 5,604 vehicles a day, 468 of them trucks (8.3%). US 59 carries the most trucks, 472 a day (10.5% of its traffic), although it ranks #3 for all traffic.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1Chatburn AvenuePrimary road · 5,604vehicles468trucks · 8.3%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
32.3 min
Drivers’ median age
53.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,277

At 4.1 times the county average, Chatburn Avenue draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $72,277 in household income.

223rd StreetPrimary road · 4,562vehicles432trucks · 9.5%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
33.1 min
Drivers’ median age
51.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$69,510

The busiest stretch of 23rd Street carries 3.3 times the county average; trucks are 9.5% of it, in line with the county-wide 9.2%.

3US 59Primary road · 4,483vehicles472trucks · 10.5%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
39.3 min
Drivers’ median age
52.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$69,661

On its busiest stretch, US 59 carries 3.2 times the county average; trucks are 10.5% of it, above the county-wide 9.2%.

4Cyclone AvenueSecondary road · 2,684vehicles214trucks · 8.0%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
27.5 min
Drivers’ median age
52.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$60,633

Cyclone Avenue is busy by local standards, at 95% more than the county average on its busiest stretch; trucks are 8.0% of it, below the county-wide 9.2%.

5385th StreetTertiary road · 2,584vehicles131trucks · 5.1%
Road class
Tertiary road
Median trip time
30.8 min
Drivers’ median age
54.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$68,644

385th Street peaks at 2,584 vehicles a day, 87% more than the county average; trucks are 5.1% of it, below the county-wide 9.2%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1US 59Primary road · #3 by traffic4,483vehicles472trucks · 10.5%
2Chatburn AvenuePrimary road · #1 by traffic5,604vehicles468trucks · 8.3%
323rd StreetPrimary road · #2 by traffic4,562vehicles432trucks · 9.5%
4Cyclone AvenueSecondary road · #4 by traffic2,684vehicles214trucks · 8.0%
51000th StreetPrimary road · 2,410vehicles188trucks · 7.8%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
24.1 min
Drivers’ median age
50.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$73,849

Trips on 1000th Street are short, a median 24.1 minutes against 32.9 county-wide, so it mostly serves local errands and commutes.

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

ShelbyDepartment 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 Shelby County

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

Need segment-level traffic data?

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