ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · MA · GEOID 250092024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Essex County, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip28.5 min±0.5 min MOE
Worked from home16.4%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone67.6%±0.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip12.0%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 commute29.6 min → 28.5 min▼ 1.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.3% → 16.4%▲ 6.1 pp

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

Public transit4.5% → 3.5%▼ 0.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone72.0% → 67.6%▼ 4.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone67.6% ±0.7 pp
Carpool7.3% ±0.5 pp
Public transit3.5% ±0.3 pp
Walk2.7% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.1 pp
Work from home16.4% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 415,471 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.

61thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 61% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

48thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 52% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

72thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 72% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

77th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 77% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate813,054± — MOE
Workers age 16+415,471± 3,166 MOE
Workers with travel time347,235± 3,493 MOE
Estimated home workers68,236± 1,959 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.