ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · CA · GEOID 60012024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Alameda County, California

Mean one-way trip31.0 min±0.4 min MOE
Worked from home25.7%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone52.6%±0.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip13.6%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 commute33.4 min → 31.0 min▼ 2.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home16.4% → 25.7%▲ 9.4 pp

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

Public transit12.2% → 7.7%▼ 4.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone56.4% → 52.6%▼ 3.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone52.6% ±0.6 pp
Carpool8.3% ±0.3 pp
Public transit7.7% ±0.3 pp
Walk2.8% ±0.1 pp
Bicycle1.2% ±0.1 pp
Work from home25.7% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 837,261 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.

81thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 81% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

92thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 92% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

88thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 88% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

83th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 83% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate1,649,473± — MOE
Workers age 16+837,261± 4,145 MOE
Workers with travel time621,893± 4,695 MOE
Estimated home workers215,368± 3,967 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.