ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · AL · GEOID 11172024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Shelby County, Alabama

Mean one-way trip29.5 min±1.0 min MOE
Worked from home16.9%±0.9 pp MOE
Drove alone74.8%±1.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip7.4%among commuters

U.S. Census Bureau ACS estimates for residents age 16+ who work. Commute time excludes people working from home.

01 / THE SHIFT

What changed in the published estimate?

These periods overlap: 2021 covers 2017–2021 and 2024 covers 2020–2024. Changes are directional comparisons, not independent annual measurements.

Mean commute29.3 min → 29.5 min▲ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.9% → 16.9%▲ 6.0 pp

Share of workers age 16+ who usually worked from home.

Public transit0.0% → 0.0%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone81.4% → 74.8%▼ 6.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone74.8% ±1.3 pp
Carpool6.7% ±0.7 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.1 pp
Walk0.7% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.0 pp
Work from home16.9% ±0.9 pp

Each share uses 117,267 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

Compared with similar-size countys

Percentiles are single-metric context, never a “good commute” score.

86thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 86% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

84thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 84% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

3thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 97% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

65th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 65% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate230,211± — MOE
Workers age 16+117,267± 1,659 MOE
Workers with travel time97,418± 1,890 MOE
Estimated home workers19,849± 1,112 MOE
Why the ± matters

ACS values are survey estimates. The margin of error is the 90% confidence interval published by the Census Bureau or calculated for a share from published component margins. Small differences can be sampling noise.