ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NJ · GEOID 340132024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Essex County, New Jersey

Mean one-way trip33.6 min±0.7 min MOE
Worked from home16.1%±0.6 pp MOE
Drove alone52.7%±0.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip17.6%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 commute34.2 min → 33.6 min▼ 0.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.4% → 16.1%▲ 5.7 pp

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

Public transit18.3% → 15.8%▼ 2.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone56.9% → 52.7%▼ 4.3 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone52.7% ±0.9 pp
Carpool7.9% ±0.5 pp
Public transit15.8% ±0.6 pp
Walk3.0% ±0.3 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.0 pp
Work from home16.1% ±0.6 pp

Each share uses 401,962 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.

93thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 93% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

46thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 54% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

93thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 93% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

94th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 94% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate863,002± — MOE
Workers age 16+401,962± 3,854 MOE
Workers with travel time337,359± 3,803 MOE
Estimated home workers64,603± 2,484 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.