ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · MN · GEOID 271192024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Polk County, Minnesota

Mean one-way trip18.6 min±1.1 min MOE
Worked from home5.8%±0.8 pp MOE
Drove alone78.3%±1.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.0%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 commute17.7 min → 18.6 min▲ 0.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home5.6% → 5.8%▲ 0.2 pp

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

Public transit0.6% → 1.6%▲ 1.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone78.2% → 78.3%▲ 0.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone78.3% ±1.7 pp
Carpool6.7% ±1.2 pp
Public transit1.6% ±0.8 pp
Walk6.2% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.3 pp
Work from home5.8% ±0.8 pp

Each share uses 15,049 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.

8thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 92% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

24thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 76% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

96thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 96% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

23th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 77% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate30,705± — MOE
Workers age 16+15,049± 375 MOE
Workers with travel time14,176± 379 MOE
Estimated home workers873± 124 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.