What is the average commute in King County, Washington?

The 2024 ACS five-year mean one-way commute estimate is 27.6 min, excluding people who worked from home.

What share of workers in King County, Washington work from home?

The 2024 ACS five-year work-from-home estimate is 29.2%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.3 percentage points.

Are the 2021 and 2024 commute estimates independent?

No. The five-year periods overlap, so their difference is presented as directional rather than an independent annual or causal change.

COUNTY · WA · GEOID 530332024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

King County, Washington

Name: Commute estimates for King County, Washington
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 27.6 min one way; 29.2% worked from home, 50.4% drove alone, and 8.1% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

Mean one-way trip27.6 min±0.3 min MOE

Worked from home29.2%±0.3 pp MOE

Drove alone50.4%±0.4 pp MOE

60+ minute trip8.1%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 King County's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed -1.8 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +11.2 percentage points.

These periods overlap: 2021 covers 2017–2021 and 2024 covers 2020–2024. Changes are directional comparisons, not independent annual measurements.

Mean commute29.4 min → 27.6 min▼ 1.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home18.0% → 29.2%▲ 11.2 pp

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

Public transit10.7% → 6.8%▼ 3.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone55.4% → 50.4%▼ 5.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How King County residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 50.4%; 6.8% used public transit and 29.2% worked from home.

Drive alone50.4% ±0.4 pp

Carpool7.0% ±0.3 pp

Public transit6.8% ±0.2 pp

Walk4.3% ±0.2 pp

Bicycle1.1% ±0.1 pp

Work from home29.2% ±0.3 pp

Each share uses 1,228,860 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

How King County compares with similar-size countys

This county's mean commute is at the 53th percentile among covered 500k+ countys; each percentile describes one metric only.

Percentiles are single-metric context, never a “good commute” score.

53^thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 53% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

98^thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 98% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

85^thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 85% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

53^th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 53% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind King County's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 1,228,860 workers age 16+, including 870,459 workers with reported travel time and 358,401 home workers.

Population estimate2,287,171± — MOE

Workers age 16+1,228,860± 4,962 MOE

Workers with travel time870,459± 5,031 MOE

Estimated home workers358,401± 4,007 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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable Washington commute records for King County

These 4 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All Washington reports →