ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · IA · GEOID 190112024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Benton County, Iowa

Mean one-way trip24.9 min±1.5 min MOE
Worked from home11.5%±1.4 pp MOE
Drove alone78.0%±2.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.7%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 commute25.8 min → 24.9 min▼ 0.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home8.2% → 11.5%▲ 3.3 pp

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

Public transit0.2% → 0.1%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone81.6% → 78.0%▼ 3.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone78.0% ±2.3 pp
Carpool7.7% ±1.8 pp
Public transit0.1% ±0.2 pp
Walk1.5% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle0.5% ±0.5 pp
Work from home11.5% ±1.4 pp

Each share uses 13,051 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.

55thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 55% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

80thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 80% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

38thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 62% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

19th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 81% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate25,724± — MOE
Workers age 16+13,051± 343 MOE
Workers with travel time11,552± 379 MOE
Estimated home workers1,499± 189 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.