ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · IL · GEOID 170372024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

DeKalb County, Illinois

Mean one-way trip26.7 min±1.6 min MOE
Worked from home9.3%±1.1 pp MOE
Drove alone74.8%±2.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip9.9%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 commute26.7 min → 26.7 min— 0.0 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home6.1% → 9.3%▲ 3.3 pp

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

Public transit1.1% → 0.8%▼ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone78.6% → 74.8%▼ 3.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone74.8% ±2.0 pp
Carpool9.6% ±1.5 pp
Public transit0.8% ±0.3 pp
Walk4.2% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle0.5% ±0.4 pp
Work from home9.3% ±1.1 pp

Each share uses 50,752 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.

72thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 72% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

26thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 74% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

65thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 65% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

81th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 81% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate100,703± — MOE
Workers age 16+50,752± 1,118 MOE
Workers with travel time46,017± 1,199 MOE
Estimated home workers4,735± 544 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.