Best Time to Drive from Palmdale to Costa Mesa

Right now (6:18 pm PDT): about 131 minutes via I-5 South, usually 159 at this time.

Only 3% 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 94-mile drive from Palmdale to Costa Mesa (via I-5 South) usually takes as little as 105 minutes and up to 205 minutes, when leaving around 2:30 pm on Thursdays. The fastest times to leave are before 5:30 am or after 9 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 159 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 2 pm on Saturdays (175 minutes).

About 54 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 40 miles surface streets (57 to 116 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Palmdale to central Costa Mesa 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 Palmdale to Costa Mesa?

On weekdays, leave before 5:30 am or after 9 pm. The drive usually takes about 105 minutes then, versus up to 205 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Palmdale to Costa Mesa?

The 94-mile drive usually takes 105 to 205 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 159 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Palmdale to Costa Mesa?

Leaving around 2:30 pm on Thursdays is usually slowest, about 205 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-5 South in Los Angeles (19 miles) · I-5 South in Orange County (17 miles) · SR-55 South in Orange County (8 miles) · SR-2 West in Los Angeles (8 miles) · I-210 West in Los Angeles (1.3 miles)

Los Angeles traffic right now · Los Angeles traffic tomorrow · Orange County traffic right now · Orange County traffic tomorrow

More drives

Costa Mesa to Palmdale (return trip) · Palmdale to Los Angeles · Palmdale to Long Beach · Palmdale to Anaheim · Palmdale to Riverside · Palmdale to Santa Ana · Palmdale to Irvine · Palmdale to Oxnard · Palmdale to Moreno Valley · Palmdale to Huntington Beach · Palmdale to Glendale · Palmdale to Santa Clarita

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