What is the average commute in Portage County, Wisconsin?

The 2024 ACS five-year mean one-way commute estimate is 19.5 min, excluding people who worked from home.

What share of workers in Portage County, Wisconsin work from home?

The 2024 ACS five-year work-from-home estimate is 12.6%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.9 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 · WI · GEOID 550972024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Portage County, Wisconsin

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

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 19.5 min one way; 12.6% worked from home, 74.1% drove alone, and 4.0% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

Mean one-way trip19.5 min±0.8 min MOE

Worked from home12.6%±0.9 pp MOE

Drove alone74.1%±1.6 pp MOE

60+ minute trip4.0%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 Portage County's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed +0.4 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +2.9 percentage points.

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

Mean commute19.1 min → 19.5 min▲ 0.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home9.7% → 12.6%▲ 2.9 pp

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

Public transit0.5% → 0.2%▼ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone76.2% → 74.1%▼ 2.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How Portage County residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 74.1%; 0.2% used public transit and 12.6% worked from home.

Drive alone74.1% ±1.6 pp

Carpool7.7% ±1.0 pp

Public transit0.2% ±0.2 pp

Walk4.2% ±0.7 pp

Bicycle0.8% ±0.3 pp

Work from home12.6% ±0.9 pp

Each share uses 36,988 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

How Portage County compares with similar-size countys

This county's mean commute is at the 12th percentile among covered 25k–100k countys; each percentile describes one metric only.

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

12^thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 88% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

86^thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 86% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

54^thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 54% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

11^th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 89% of covered countys in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind Portage County's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 36,988 workers age 16+, including 32,345 workers with reported travel time and 4,643 home workers.

Population estimate70,832± — MOE

Workers age 16+36,988± 632 MOE

Workers with travel time32,345± 686 MOE

Estimated home workers4,643± 347 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 Wisconsin commute records for Portage County

These 8 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All Wisconsin reports →