ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · PA · GEOID 421012024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Mean one-way trip31.7 min±0.6 min MOE
Worked from home18.4%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone46.0%±0.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip12.0%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 commute33.0 min → 31.7 min▼ 1.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.8% → 18.4%▲ 7.6 pp

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

Public transit21.4% → 16.7%▼ 4.7 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone48.3% → 46.0%▼ 2.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone46.0% ±0.7 pp
Carpool7.8% ±0.4 pp
Public transit16.7% ±0.5 pp
Walk7.1% ±0.3 pp
Bicycle1.8% ±0.2 pp
Work from home18.4% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 726,419 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.

87thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 87% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

58thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 58% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

94thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 94% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

76th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 76% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate1,579,706± — MOE
Workers age 16+726,419± 6,081 MOE
Workers with travel time592,850± 6,249 MOE
Estimated home workers133,569± 3,527 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.