ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · IL · GEOID 171092024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

McDonough County, Illinois

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 18.6 min one way; 6.9% worked from home, 76.8% drove alone, and 6.1% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

Mean one-way trip18.6 min±1.8 min MOE
Worked from home6.9%±1.4 pp MOE
Drove alone76.8%±3.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip6.1%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 McDonough County's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed +0.2 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +2.3 percentage points.

These periods overlap: 2021 covers 2017–2021 and 2024 covers 2020–2024. Changes are directional comparisons, not independent annual measurements.

Mean commute18.4 min → 18.6 min▲ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.5% → 6.9%▲ 2.3 pp

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

Public transit0.9% → 0.5%▼ 0.4 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone76.7% → 76.8%▲ 0.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How McDonough County residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 76.8%; 0.5% used public transit and 6.9% worked from home.

Drive alone76.8% ±3.0 pp
Carpool9.5% ±1.6 pp
Public transit0.5% ±0.4 pp
Walk4.6% ±1.3 pp
Bicycle0.8% ±0.8 pp
Work from home6.9% ±1.4 pp

Each share uses 12,650 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

How McDonough County compares with similar-size countys

This county's mean commute is at the 8th percentile among covered 25k–100k countys; each percentile describes one metric only.

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

8thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 92% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

34thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 66% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

79thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 79% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

36th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 64% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind McDonough County's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 12,650 workers age 16+, including 11,781 workers with reported travel time and 869 home workers.

Population estimate26,920± — MOE
Workers age 16+12,650± 464 MOE
Workers with travel time11,781± 473 MOE
Estimated home workers869± 185 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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable Illinois commute records for McDonough County

These 8 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All Illinois reports →