Best Time to Drive from Carlsbad to Paramount

Right now (7:05 pm PDT): about 78 minutes via I-5 North and SR-73 North, usually 74 at this time.

Only 50% of this drive is measured by working traffic sensors right now. The rest is estimated from nearby sensors, typical speeds and street traffic, so times can be off. Why so few sensors work.

About this drive

On weekdays the 78-mile drive from Carlsbad to Paramount (via I-5 North and SR-73 North) usually takes as little as 68 minutes and up to 100 minutes, when leaving around 4 pm on Fridays. The fastest times to leave are before 6 am or after 6:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 78 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 3 pm on Saturdays (90 minutes).

About 76 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 2 miles surface streets (2 to 5 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Carlsbad to central Paramount along the route on the map. Starting or ending elsewhere in a big city can add or save several minutes.

Simulated from typical freeway speeds at each point of the drive for the time you would reach it, from every 5-minute reading we have recorded. We don't have sensors on surface streets yet, so the time on them is estimated from how congested the freeways around each end of the drive are at that time, in both directions: streets jam when the freeways do.

Questions

What is the best time to drive from Carlsbad to Paramount?

On weekdays, leave before 6 am or after 6:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 68 minutes then, versus up to 100 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Carlsbad to Paramount?

The 78-mile drive usually takes 68 to 100 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 78 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Carlsbad to Paramount?

Leaving around 4 pm on Fridays is usually slowest, about 100 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-5 North in San Diego (21 miles) · SR-73 North in Orange County (18 miles) · I-405 North in Orange County (14 miles) · I-5 North in Orange County (14 miles) · I-605 North in Orange County (6 miles) · SR-91 West in Los Angeles (2 miles)

San Diego traffic right now · San Diego traffic tomorrow · Los Angeles traffic right now · Los Angeles traffic tomorrow

More drives

Paramount to Carlsbad (return trip) · Carlsbad to San Diego · Carlsbad to Escondido · Carlsbad to Chula Vista · Carlsbad to La Jolla · Carlsbad to El Cajon · Carlsbad to SAN · Carlsbad to Long Beach · Carlsbad to Anaheim · Carlsbad to Riverside · Carlsbad to Santa Ana · Carlsbad to Irvine

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