ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NC · GEOID 371892024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Watauga County, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip21.2 min±1.6 min MOE
Worked from home10.4%±1.9 pp MOE
Drove alone72.5%±2.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.6%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 commute20.7 min → 21.2 min▲ 0.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home9.3% → 10.4%▲ 1.1 pp

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

Public transit1.3% → 1.7%▲ 0.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone74.7% → 72.5%▼ 2.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone72.5% ±2.8 pp
Carpool9.9% ±2.0 pp
Public transit1.7% ±1.0 pp
Walk4.8% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle0.1% ±0.1 pp
Work from home10.4% ±1.9 pp

Each share uses 25,655 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.

24thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 76% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

73thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 73% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

97thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

18th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 82% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate55,123± — MOE
Workers age 16+25,655± 829 MOE
Workers with travel time22,982± 898 MOE
Estimated home workers2,673± 489 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.