ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · MA · GEOID 250252024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip30.9 min±0.5 min MOE
Worked from home19.9%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone35.4%±0.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip11.8%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 commute31.1 min → 30.9 min▼ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home11.5% → 19.9%▲ 8.3 pp

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

Public transit27.2% → 22.4%▼ 4.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone38.6% → 35.4%▼ 3.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone35.4% ±0.7 pp
Carpool6.1% ±0.4 pp
Public transit22.4% ±0.7 pp
Walk12.0% ±0.4 pp
Bicycle1.9% ±0.2 pp
Work from home19.9% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 428,123 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.

79thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 79% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

70thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 70% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

97thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

75th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 75% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate785,121± — MOE
Workers age 16+428,123± 2,756 MOE
Workers with travel time343,048± 3,478 MOE
Estimated home workers85,075± 2,062 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.