ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NC · GEOID 371352024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Orange County, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip23.6 min±1.1 min MOE
Worked from home26.8%±1.5 pp MOE
Drove alone55.3%±1.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.1%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 commute24.0 min → 23.6 min▼ 0.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home18.5% → 26.8%▲ 8.3 pp

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

Public transit5.6% → 4.2%▼ 1.4 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone62.0% → 55.3%▼ 6.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone55.3% ±1.4 pp
Carpool6.2% ±0.9 pp
Public transit4.2% ±0.6 pp
Walk4.4% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle1.9% ±0.5 pp
Work from home26.8% ±1.5 pp

Each share uses 72,751 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.

47thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 53% 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.

97thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

41th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 59% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate149,678± — MOE
Workers age 16+72,751± 1,247 MOE
Workers with travel time53,245± 1,232 MOE
Estimated home workers19,506± 1,151 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.