ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · MA · GEOID 250172024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip29.9 min±0.4 min MOE
Worked from home24.7%±0.4 pp MOE
Drove alone54.2%±0.5 pp MOE
60+ minute trip11.0%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 commute30.7 min → 29.9 min▼ 0.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home15.6% → 24.7%▲ 9.1 pp

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

Public transit9.8% → 7.2%▼ 2.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone60.8% → 54.2%▼ 6.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone54.2% ±0.5 pp
Carpool6.3% ±0.3 pp
Public transit7.2% ±0.2 pp
Walk4.2% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle1.6% ±0.1 pp
Work from home24.7% ±0.4 pp

Each share uses 888,792 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 500k+ population band.

88thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 88% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

86thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 86% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

70th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 70% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate1,638,365± — MOE
Workers age 16+888,792± 3,966 MOE
Workers with travel time669,380± 4,945 MOE
Estimated home workers219,412± 3,748 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.