Best Time to Drive from Queens to Hempstead

None 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.

Typical drive time by departure time

Minutes from Queens to Hempstead by day and time you leave (local time)
Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	51	57	70	77	63	58	60	71	72	79	72	69	72	74	59	51	45
Tue	30	49	62	75	61	55	46	57	62	74	76	74	76	76	79	66	56
Wed	29	34	44	64	54	47	45	43	51	63	66	58	68	70	63	50	46
Thu	27	36	46	65	56	62	69	75	74	77	76	76	78	77	76	75	71
Fri	37	50	62	68	63	53	53	56	64	65	68	74	64	74	70	60	57
Sat	31	33	27	30	36	37	41	48	49	50	53	56	54	47	50	55	47
Sun	32	32	38	36	37	41	45	51	62	65	74	76	70	69	55	56	58

About this drive

On weekdays the 16-mile drive from Queens to Hempstead (via Belt Pkwy East) usually takes as little as 27 minutes and up to 81 minutes, when leaving around 2:30 pm on Thursdays. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 63 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 4:30 pm on Sundays (77 minutes).

About 12 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 4 miles surface streets (6 to 14 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Queens to central Hempstead 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 Queens to Hempstead?

On weekdays, leave early in the morning or late in the evening. The drive usually takes about 27 minutes then, versus up to 81 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Queens to Hempstead?

The 16-mile drive usually takes 27 to 81 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 63 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Queens to Hempstead?

Leaving around 2:30 pm on Thursdays is usually slowest, about 81 minutes.

More drives

Hempstead to Queens (return trip) · Queens to Yonkers · Queens to Washington Heights · Queens to Paterson · Queens to Clifton · Queens to New Rochelle · Queens to Passaic · Queens to Mount Vernon · Queens to Bayside · Queens to Wayne · Queens to Perth Amboy · Queens to Hackensack

Open the live traffic map →

Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	51	57	70	77	63	58	60	71	72	79	72	69	72	74	59	51	45
Tue	30	49	62	75	61	55	46	57	62	74	76	74	76	76	79	66	56
Wed	29	34	44	64	54	47	45	43	51	63	66	58	68	70	63	50	46
Thu	27	36	46	65	56	62	69	75	74	77	76	76	78	77	76	75	71
Fri	37	50	62	68	63	53	53	56	64	65	68	74	64	74	70	60	57
Sat	31	33	27	30	36	37	41	48	49	50	53	56	54	47	50	55	47
Sun	32	32	38	36	37	41	45	51	62	65	74	76	70	69	55	56	58

Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	51	57	70	77	63	58	60	71	72	79	72	69	72	74	59	51	45
Tue	30	49	62	75	61	55	46	57	62	74	76	74	76	76	79	66	56
Wed	29	34	44	64	54	47	45	43	51	63	66	58	68	70	63	50	46
Thu	27	36	46	65	56	62	69	75	74	77	76	76	78	77	76	75	71
Fri	37	50	62	68	63	53	53	56	64	65	68	74	64	74	70	60	57
Sat	31	33	27	30	36	37	41	48	49	50	53	56	54	47	50	55	47
Sun	32	32	38	36	37	41	45	51	62	65	74	76	70	69	55	56	58

Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	51	57	70	77	63	58	60	71	72	79	72	69	72	74	59	51	45
Tue	30	49	62	75	61	55	46	57	62	74	76	74	76	76	79	66	56
Wed	29	34	44	64	54	47	45	43	51	63	66	58	68	70	63	50	46
Thu	27	36	46	65	56	62	69	75	74	77	76	76	78	77	76	75	71
Fri	37	50	62	68	63	53	53	56	64	65	68	74	64	74	70	60	57
Sat	31	33	27	30	36	37	41	48	49	50	53	56	54	47	50	55	47
Sun	32	32	38	36	37	41	45	51	62	65	74	76	70	69	55	56	58