What is the average commute in Santa Clara County, California?

The 2024 ACS five-year mean one-way commute estimate is 26.2 min, excluding people who worked from home.

What share of workers in Santa Clara County, California work from home?

The 2024 ACS five-year work-from-home estimate is 23.9%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.4 percentage points.

Are the 2021 and 2024 commute estimates independent?

No. The five-year periods overlap, so their difference is presented as directional rather than an independent annual or causal change.

COUNTY · CA · GEOID 60852024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Santa Clara County, California

Name: Commute estimates for Santa Clara County, California
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 26.2 min one way; 23.9% worked from home, 59.9% drove alone, and 7.0% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

Mean one-way trip26.2 min±0.3 min MOE

Worked from home23.9%±0.4 pp MOE

Drove alone59.9%±0.4 pp MOE

60+ minute trip7.0%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 Santa Clara County's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed -2.3 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +8.4 percentage points.

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

Mean commute28.5 min → 26.2 min▼ 2.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home15.5% → 23.9%▲ 8.4 pp

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

Public transit3.4% → 2.3%▼ 1.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone66.8% → 59.9%▼ 6.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How Santa Clara County residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 59.9%; 2.3% used public transit and 23.9% worked from home.

Drive alone59.9% ±0.4 pp

Carpool9.0% ±0.3 pp

Public transit2.3% ±0.1 pp

Walk2.1% ±0.1 pp

Bicycle1.4% ±0.1 pp

Work from home23.9% ±0.4 pp

Each share uses 970,790 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

How Santa Clara County compares with similar-size countys

This county's mean commute is at the 43th percentile among covered 500k+ countys; each percentile describes one metric only.

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

43^thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 57% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

86^thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 86% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

59^thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 59% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

43^th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 57% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind Santa Clara County's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 970,790 workers age 16+, including 739,006 workers with reported travel time and 231,784 home workers.

Population estimate1,902,047± — MOE

Workers age 16+970,790± 4,277 MOE

Workers with travel time739,006± 5,927 MOE

Estimated home workers231,784± 4,385 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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable California commute records for Santa Clara County

These 8 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All California reports →