ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · MD · GEOID 240272024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Howard County, Maryland

Mean one-way trip28.5 min±0.8 min MOE
Worked from home26.0%±1.0 pp MOE
Drove alone64.9%±1.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip8.7%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 commute30.4 min → 28.5 min▼ 1.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home16.0% → 26.0%▲ 10.0 pp

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

Public transit2.6% → 1.5%▼ 1.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone73.2% → 64.9%▼ 8.3 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone64.9% ±1.0 pp
Carpool5.4% ±0.4 pp
Public transit1.5% ±0.3 pp
Walk0.9% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle0.1% ±0.0 pp
Work from home26.0% ±1.0 pp

Each share uses 175,433 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.

82thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 82% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

98thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 98% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

87thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 87% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

74th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 74% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate336,328± — MOE
Workers age 16+175,433± 1,496 MOE
Workers with travel time129,859± 1,998 MOE
Estimated home workers45,574± 1,741 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.