ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NC · GEOID 371832024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Wake County, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip25.1 min±0.5 min MOE
Worked from home29.1%±0.6 pp MOE
Drove alone61.4%±0.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.8%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 commute25.6 min → 25.1 min▼ 0.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home18.7% → 29.1%▲ 10.4 pp

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

Public transit0.9% → 0.7%▼ 0.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone71.1% → 61.4%▼ 9.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone61.4% ±0.6 pp
Carpool5.9% ±0.4 pp
Public transit0.7% ±0.1 pp
Walk1.2% ±0.1 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.1 pp
Work from home29.1% ±0.6 pp

Each share uses 619,080 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.

33thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 67% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

97thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

19thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 81% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

25th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 75% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate1,178,653± — MOE
Workers age 16+619,080± 4,082 MOE
Workers with travel time439,202± 4,836 MOE
Estimated home workers179,878± 4,009 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.