ANALYSIS
Summer’s ending. Who's hitting the road? Measuring Labor Day travel trends in the nation’s largest metro areas
Labor Day weekend travel is an American tradition, capping off the traditional summer season. But how much does Labor Day travel actually impact driving patterns? StreetLight analyzed trip patterns in the top 50 U.S. metros to see how Labor Day trip volumes, lengths, and travel times compare to a typical Friday.
Understanding leisure ground travel patterns is critical for public sector agencies managing traffic during major peaks in activity, as well as for private sector businesses dependent on tourism activity. Think rest stops, fueling stations, toll operators, roadside motels, restaurants, and vacation hubs, among the many other businesses that serve road trippers.
To understand how the U.S.’s biggest metros compare when it comes to road trippers fleeing the city for one last hurrah, StreetLight used its industry-leading transportation analytics to analyze vehicle travel trends across the largest metropolitan areas.
StreetLight analyzed the 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) by population to understand how travel activity compared on the Friday before Labor Day in 2024 versus a typical Friday during the fall, analyzing by difference in:
- Share of out-of-town trips
- Total trips
- Average trip length
- Average travel time
At the end of the analysis, you can see complete results alphabetized by metro.
Key Takeaways
- Labor Day Friday does not see as big an uptick as might be expected in the share of trips leaving cities vs. a typical Friday.
- The largest increase occurs in Minneapolis, with the share of leaving trips increasing by 1.5 percentage points, followed by Raleigh and Richmond.
- Even more surprising: In nearly every metro studied, fewer total trips take place on Labor Day Friday vs. a typical Friday. Only nine of the top 50 metros see total trips increase on Labor Day Friday as compared to a typical Friday.
- The popular tourist metros of Tampa, Jacksonville, and Las Vegas see the biggest increase in total trips on Labor Day Friday.
- Overall, Hartford sees the biggest share of trips heading out of town on a typical Friday, accounting for about 15% of trips. Raleigh and Salt Lake City see the next highest shares, at roughly 10% each.
Labor Day Friday vs Typical Friday Travel Trends
For anyone who’s tried to get to get out of town on the Friday before a holiday weekend, it may be a surprise to learn that the share of trips leaving the region actually does not increase substantially. In fact, the largest increase in share of trips that exit the city among the metros is Minneapolis with an increase of 1.5 percentage points, from about 4.5% of trips on a typical Friday to 6% on Labor Day Friday. That said, while a 1.5 percentage point difference might seem small, it still represents just over 100,000 trips.
After Minneapolis, the next metros with the biggest bumps in share of trips leaving the city for the long weekend are Raleigh, NC: Richmond, VA; Grand Rapids, MI; and Philadelphia, PA.
Percent Change in Share of Trips Leaving Metros, Labor Day Friday vs. Typical Friday
| MSA | Rank | Percent Change |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 1 | 1.5% |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 2 | 1.3% |
| Richmond, VA | 3 | 1.3% |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 4 | 1.2% |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 5 | 0.9% |
Even more surprising than the relatively small bump in share of travel out-of-town: There are fewer total trips in most metros on Labor Day Friday as compared to a typical Friday. This may reflect people not commuting to work and thus driving down trips in general. Only nine of the top 50 metros see total trips increase on Labor Day Friday as compared to a typical Friday.
Tampa, Jacksonville, and Las Vegas top the rankings for increased trips overall on Labor Day Friday. Each of these cities are car-oriented tourist destinations that may see locals and out-of-towners alike traveling around the metro.
Percent Change in Total Trips on Labor Day Friday vs. Typical Friday
| MSA | Rank | Percent Change |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 1 | 3.3% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 2 | 2.0% |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 3 | 1.1% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 4 | 1.1% |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 5 | 1.0% |
Hartford is the metro where the biggest slice of trips head out of town on a typical Friday, even as the city does not see a notable bump in share of trips leaving the city ahead of Labor Day. Metros with a large portion of typical Friday “leavers” may have a high proportion of long-distance commuters or a significant outdoor culture taking them farther afield on a typical weekend.
Share of Trips Leaving Metros on a Typical Friday
| MSA | Rank | Share of Total Friday Trips |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 1 | 15% |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 2 | 10% |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 3 | 10% |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 4 | 8% |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 5 | 8% |
See how Virginia measures the impact of seasonal tourism
Download Case StudyFor change in average trip length on Labor Day Friday, Raleigh and Minneapolis rank first and second, with Richmond coming in third. This ranking closely tracks the ranking for increase in share of trips out-out-town. Charlotte and Birmingham are the only cities that appear in the top five for increased avg. trip travel length but not in the list for increased share of trips out of the metro.
Percent Change in Average Trip Length, Labor Day Friday vs. Typical Friday
| MSA | Rank | Percent Change |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 1 | 16% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 2 | 13% |
| Richmond, VA | 3 | 12% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 4 | 10% |
| Birmingham, AL | 5 | 8% |
And Atlanta enters the top five for overall increased average travel time on Labor Day Friday. The other metros in the list align closely with the top five for increased trip length. Minneapolis is the only one of these metros where trip length increases by a greater percentage than travel time.
Percent Change in Average Travel Time, Labor Day Friday vs. Typical Friday
| MSA | Rank | Percent Change |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 1 | 16% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 2 | 10% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 3 | 10% |
| Birmingham, AL | 4 | 9% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 5 | 7% |
By examining empirical data on vehicle activity, we can see that the typical stories we hear in the media about Labor Day “traffic armageddon” are actually far more nuanced. Total trips on Labor Day Friday, in fact, go down in most cities. And trips leaving the metro region increase by far less than we might expect.
For this analysis, we used StreetLight’s historical trip data to investigate total trip volumes, trip lengths, and travel times across the U.S. To dive deeper on your area’s travel trends and power more informed planning, operations, or business decisions, StreetLight offers unmatched spatial and temporal precision across a wide range of metrics, including origin-destinations, top routes, trip purpose, and more.
Check back in the fall when we’ll use our Vehicle Tours data to understand the most popular road trip destinations among the top metros.
Complete Results by MSA
| MSA short | Leaving Share of Trips, Typical Friday | Leaving Share of Trips, Labor Day Friday | Change in Leaving Share of Trips, Labor Day vs. Typical | Change in Trip Start Volume Labor Day vs. Typical | Change in Avg. Travel Time, Labor Day vs. Typical | Change in Avg. Trip Length, Labor Day vs. Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 3.6% | 4.0% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 4.6% | 5.0% | 0.4% | -2.3% | 3.1% | 4.0% |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 7.3% | 7.4% | 0.2% | -2.6% | 0.4% | 1.9% |
| Birmingham, AL | 6.7% | 7.5% | 0.8% | -4.4% | 8.9% | 8.4% |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 8.1% | 8.9% | 0.8% | -9.0% | 0.8% | 5.9% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 4.4% | 5.1% | 0.7% | -1.3% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 2.1% | 2.3% | 0.3% | -2.3% | 3.7% | 4.2% |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 4.9% | 5.2% | 0.3% | -0.4% | 4.4% | 5.5% |
| Cleveland, OH | 6.0% | 6.2% | 0.1% | -1.4% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| Columbus, OH | 5.2% | 5.4% | 0.2% | -1.6% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2.3% | 2.6% | 0.3% | -2.2% | 3.1% | 5.1% |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 4.4% | 4.8% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 4.8% | 4.7% |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 3.4% | 3.9% | 0.5% | -9.5% | 2.9% | 6.3% |
| Fresno, CA | 5.2% | 5.3% | 0.1% | -2.1% | 3.7% | 3.8% |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 8.2% | 9.4% | 1.2% | -11.3% | 4.3% | 8.0% |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 14.8% | 15.0% | 0.2% | -2.5% | 1.2% | 2.8% |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 1.7% | 1.9% | 0.2% | -2.9% | 1.5% | 2.6% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 4.6% | 5.0% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 4.8% | 5.4% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 3.2% | 3.5% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 4.5% | 5.0% |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 3.4% | 4.0% | 0.7% | -3.5% | 3.3% | 6.8% |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 2.6% | 3.2% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3.5% | 3.7% | 0.2% | -2.7% | -0.5% | 3.4% |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 5.4% | 5.7% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 5.3% | 5.7% |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 3.0% | 3.4% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 5.4% | 6.7% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 1.2% | 1.6% | 0.3% | -1.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 6.2% | 6.9% | 0.7% | -2.7% | 3.2% | 6.9% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 4.5% | 6.0% | 1.5% | -7.7% | 9.7% | 13.1% |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 4.6% | 5.2% | 0.6% | -0.5% | 5.2% | 6.1% |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 2.2% | 2.4% | 0.2% | -9.0% | -1.5% | 2.2% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 4.6% | 5.1% | 0.5% | -3.7% | 6.0% | 7.3% |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 6.4% | 6.7% | 0.3% | -2.2% | 2.9% | 3.5% |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 4.6% | 5.5% | 0.9% | -10.5% | 2.2% | 7.6% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 1.1% | 1.5% | 0.4% | -2.7% | 4.9% | 5.6% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 3.6% | 4.0% | 0.4% | -1.3% | 4.2% | 4.1% |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 3.8% | 4.3% | 0.5% | -4.4% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 8.2% | 8.1% | -0.1% | -3.0% | 0.6% | 2.1% |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 10.0% | 11.3% | 1.3% | -7.9% | 16.4% | 15.9% |
| Richmond, VA | 5.6% | 6.9% | 1.3% | -9.5% | 6.8% | 12.1% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 5.7% | 6.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 2.7% | 4.5% |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 5.8% | 6.1% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 1.5% | 2.8% |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 9.5% | 10.2% | 0.6% | -0.7% | 5.1% | 7.6% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 3.1% | 3.4% | 0.3% | -3.0% | 4.1% | 4.2% |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 2.6% | 2.7% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.7% | 1.0% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 6.7% | 6.8% | 0.1% | -1.3% | 1.0% | 2.0% |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 8.8% | 8.8% | 0.0% | -5.2% | 0.9% | 2.1% |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 2.8% | 3.4% | 0.5% | -2.5% | 4.9% | 6.1% |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 2.5% | 3.0% | 0.4% | -1.5% | 4.9% | 4.5% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 3.2% | 3.5% | 0.3% | 3.3% | -1.3% | 4.0% |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 3.2% | 3.7% | 0.5% | -5.5% | 2.1% | 5.7% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 6.0% | 6.7% | 0.7% | -5.5% | 2.5% | 6.9% |
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