ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · CA · GEOID 60132024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Contra Costa County, California

Mean one-way trip35.3 min±0.6 min MOE
Worked from home21.3%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone59.7%±0.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip21.2%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 commute37.8 min → 35.3 min▼ 2.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.3% → 21.3%▲ 7.0 pp

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

Public transit8.8% → 5.4%▼ 3.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone63.5% → 59.7%▼ 3.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone59.7% ±0.8 pp
Carpool10.0% ±0.5 pp
Public transit5.4% ±0.3 pp
Walk1.8% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.1 pp
Work from home21.3% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 551,854 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.

97thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

79thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 79% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

81thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 81% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

97th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate1,165,012± — MOE
Workers age 16+551,854± 3,752 MOE
Workers with travel time434,400± 4,518 MOE
Estimated home workers117,454± 2,781 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.