ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · FL · GEOID 121052024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Polk County, Florida

Mean one-way trip30.5 min±0.7 min MOE
Worked from home12.4%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone75.0%±0.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip11.3%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 commute29.1 min → 30.5 min▲ 1.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home7.3% → 12.4%▲ 5.1 pp

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

Public transit0.3% → 0.4%▲ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone80.9% → 75.0%▼ 5.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone75.0% ±0.7 pp
Carpool8.8% ±0.5 pp
Public transit0.4% ±0.1 pp
Walk1.1% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.1 pp
Work from home12.4% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 345,479 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.

77thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 77% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

17thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 83% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

9thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 91% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

71th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 71% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate790,694± — MOE
Workers age 16+345,479± 3,759 MOE
Workers with travel time302,675± 3,806 MOE
Estimated home workers42,804± 1,850 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.