ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · IL · GEOID 170312024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Cook County, Illinois

Mean one-way trip31.5 min±0.2 min MOE
Worked from home18.9%±0.2 pp MOE
Drove alone54.8%±0.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip12.5%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 commute32.7 min → 31.5 min▼ 1.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home11.3% → 18.9%▲ 7.6 pp

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

Public transit15.8% → 11.8%▼ 4.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone58.5% → 54.8%▼ 3.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone54.8% ±0.3 pp
Carpool7.7% ±0.2 pp
Public transit11.8% ±0.2 pp
Walk4.0% ±0.1 pp
Bicycle0.9% ±0.1 pp
Work from home18.9% ±0.2 pp

Each share uses 2,539,962 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.

86thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 86% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

63thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 63% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

92thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 92% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

81th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 81% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate5,182,090± — MOE
Workers age 16+2,539,962± 8,667 MOE
Workers with travel time2,059,892± 9,115 MOE
Estimated home workers480,070± 6,136 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.