ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · CA · GEOID 60852024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Santa Clara County, California

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 the published estimate?

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 residents usually get to work

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

Compared with similar-size countys

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

43thMean commute percentile

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

86thWork-from-home percentile

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

59thTransit percentile

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

43th60+ 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 the shares

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.