ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · NY · GEOID 361092024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Tompkins County, New York

Mean one-way trip20.1 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home20.0%±1.9 pp MOE
Drove alone51.7%±2.3 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 commute20.1 min → 20.1 min— 0.0 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.5% → 20.0%▲ 5.5 pp

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

Public transit6.2% → 4.6%▼ 1.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone55.7% → 51.7%▼ 4.0 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone51.7% ±2.3 pp
Carpool9.3% ±1.3 pp
Public transit4.6% ±0.9 pp
Walk11.4% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle1.8% ±0.7 pp
Work from home20.0% ±1.9 pp

Each share uses 49,438 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.

14thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 86% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

93thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 93% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

98thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 98% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

30th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 70% of covered countys in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate104,537± — MOE
Workers age 16+49,438± 1,181 MOE
Workers with travel time39,552± 1,335 MOE
Estimated home workers9,886± 961 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.