ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NC · GEOID 371492024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Polk County, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip28.4 min±3.2 min MOE
Worked from home15.8%±3.2 pp MOE
Drove alone70.4%±3.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip7.3%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 commute26.0 min → 28.4 min▲ 2.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.9% → 15.8%▲ 4.9 pp

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

Public transit0.1% → 0.0%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone77.5% → 70.4%▼ 7.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone70.4% ±3.8 pp
Carpool11.6% ±2.9 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.2 pp
Walk1.8% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.0 pp
Work from home15.8% ±3.2 pp

Each share uses 8,635 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.

74thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 74% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

94thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 94% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

20thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 80% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

45th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 55% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate19,891± — MOE
Workers age 16+8,635± 416 MOE
Workers with travel time7,267± 454 MOE
Estimated home workers1,368± 287 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.