ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NC · GEOID 371612024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Rutherford County, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip26.1 min±1.9 min MOE
Worked from home8.6%±1.3 pp MOE
Drove alone79.7%±3.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip8.9%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 commute25.2 min → 26.1 min▲ 1.0 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.4% → 8.6%▲ 4.2 pp

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

Public transit0.1% → 0.1%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone81.7% → 79.7%▼ 2.0 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone79.7% ±3.1 pp
Carpool8.9% ±1.9 pp
Public transit0.1% ±0.1 pp
Walk1.4% ±0.8 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.0 pp
Work from home8.6% ±1.3 pp

Each share uses 26,662 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.

65thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 65% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

54thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 54% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

30thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 70% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

68th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 68% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate64,930± — MOE
Workers age 16+26,662± 977 MOE
Workers with travel time24,371± 1,071 MOE
Estimated home workers2,291± 358 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.