ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · TN · GEOID 471392024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Polk County, Tennessee

Mean one-way trip31.4 min±3.3 min MOE
Worked from home8.3%±2.4 pp MOE
Drove alone79.9%±4.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip10.3%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 commute29.5 min → 31.4 min▲ 1.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home5.5% → 8.3%▲ 2.8 pp

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

Public transit0.4% → 0.1%▼ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone81.0% → 79.9%▼ 1.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone79.9% ±4.3 pp
Carpool9.4% ±2.4 pp
Public transit0.1% ±0.2 pp
Walk2.0% ±1.1 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.3 pp
Work from home8.3% ±2.4 pp

Each share uses 7,387 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.

86thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 86% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

61thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 61% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

54thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 54% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

67th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 67% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate17,898± — MOE
Workers age 16+7,387± 370 MOE
Workers with travel time6,771± 415 MOE
Estimated home workers616± 180 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.