ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NC · GEOID 370212024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Buncombe County, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip21.1 min±0.7 min MOE
Worked from home17.6%±1.2 pp MOE
Drove alone70.5%±1.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip3.3%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 commute20.4 min → 21.1 min▲ 0.7 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home13.1% → 17.6%▲ 4.5 pp

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

Public transit0.7% → 0.7%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone75.8% → 70.5%▼ 5.3 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone70.5% ±1.1 pp
Carpool7.6% ±0.8 pp
Public transit0.7% ±0.3 pp
Walk1.9% ±0.4 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.1 pp
Work from home17.6% ±1.2 pp

Each share uses 129,061 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.

22thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 78% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

87thWork-from-home percentile

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

61thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 61% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

10th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 90% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate274,360± — MOE
Workers age 16+129,061± 2,346 MOE
Workers with travel time106,360± 2,330 MOE
Estimated home workers22,701± 1,575 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.