ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · WA · GEOID 530532024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Pierce County, Washington

Mean one-way trip31.3 min±0.5 min MOE
Worked from home13.9%±0.5 pp MOE
Drove alone70.7%±0.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip13.9%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 commute32.8 min → 31.3 min▼ 1.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home8.8% → 13.9%▲ 5.1 pp

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

Public transit3.4% → 2.1%▼ 1.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone74.5% → 70.7%▼ 3.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone70.7% ±0.6 pp
Carpool9.7% ±0.5 pp
Public transit2.1% ±0.2 pp
Walk2.2% ±0.2 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.1 pp
Work from home13.9% ±0.5 pp

Each share uses 451,807 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.

85thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 85% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

22thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 78% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

57thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 57% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

84th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 84% of covered countys in the 500k+ population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate930,319± — MOE
Workers age 16+451,807± 2,803 MOE
Workers with travel time388,891± 3,076 MOE
Estimated home workers62,916± 2,126 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.