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

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 26.1 min one way; 8.6% worked from home, 79.7% drove alone, and 8.9% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

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 Rutherford County's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed +1.0 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +4.2 percentage points.

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 Rutherford County residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 79.7%; 0.1% used public transit and 8.6% worked from home.

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

How Rutherford County compares with similar-size countys

This county's mean commute is at the 65th percentile among covered 25k–100k countys; each percentile describes one metric only.

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 Rutherford County's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 26,662 workers age 16+, including 24,371 workers with reported travel time and 2,291 home workers.

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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable North Carolina commute records for Rutherford County

These 8 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All North Carolina reports →