ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · VA · GEOID 517702024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Roanoke city, Virginia

Mean one-way trip19.0 min±1.1 min MOE
Worked from home11.8%±1.5 pp MOE
Drove alone74.9%±1.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip3.2%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 commute21.3 min → 19.0 min▼ 2.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home7.7% → 11.8%▲ 4.1 pp

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

Public transit3.6% → 2.4%▼ 1.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone76.8% → 74.9%▼ 1.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone74.9% ±1.7 pp
Carpool7.0% ±1.2 pp
Public transit2.4% ±0.8 pp
Walk1.6% ±0.4 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.2 pp
Work from home11.8% ±1.5 pp

Each share uses 44,966 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.

10thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 90% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

82thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 82% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

99thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 99% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

4th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 96% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate98,355± — MOE
Workers age 16+44,966± 1,272 MOE
Workers with travel time39,658± 1,184 MOE
Estimated home workers5,308± 709 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.