What is the average commute in Montgomery County, Maryland?

The 2024 ACS five-year mean one-way commute estimate is 31.9 min, excluding people who worked from home.

What share of workers in Montgomery County, Maryland work from home?

The 2024 ACS five-year work-from-home estimate is 28.3%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.6 percentage points.

Are the 2021 and 2024 commute estimates independent?

No. The five-year periods overlap, so their difference is presented as directional rather than an independent annual or causal change.

COUNTY · MD · GEOID 240312024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Montgomery County, Maryland

Name: Commute estimates for Montgomery County, Maryland
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 31.9 min one way; 28.3% worked from home, 52.8% drove alone, and 12.4% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

Mean one-way trip31.9 min±0.6 min MOE

Worked from home28.3%±0.6 pp MOE

Drove alone52.8%±0.7 pp MOE

60+ minute trip12.4%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 Montgomery County's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed -1.8 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +10.7 percentage points.

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

Mean commute33.8 min → 31.9 min▼ 1.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home17.6% → 28.3%▲ 10.7 pp

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

Public transit11.0% → 7.5%▼ 3.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone59.1% → 52.8%▼ 6.3 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How Montgomery County residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 52.8%; 7.5% used public transit and 28.3% worked from home.

Drive alone52.8% ±0.7 pp

Carpool7.6% ±0.3 pp

Public transit7.5% ±0.3 pp

Walk1.7% ±0.1 pp

Bicycle0.4% ±0.1 pp

Work from home28.3% ±0.6 pp

Each share uses 552,344 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

How Montgomery County compares with similar-size countys

This county's mean commute is at the 88th percentile among covered 500k+ countys; each percentile describes one metric only.

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

88^thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 88% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

94^thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 94% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

88^thTransit percentile

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

80^th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 80% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind Montgomery County's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 552,344 workers age 16+, including 396,091 workers with reported travel time and 156,253 home workers.

Population estimate1,065,949± — MOE

Workers age 16+552,344± 3,540 MOE

Workers with travel time396,091± 4,096 MOE

Estimated home workers156,253± 3,397 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 Maryland commute records for Montgomery County

These 4 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All Maryland reports →