ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
COUNTY · WV · GEOID 540472024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

McDowell County, West Virginia

Mean one-way trip36.0 min±8.4 min MOE
Worked from home4.5%±2.2 pp MOE
Drove alone83.2%±5.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip22.3%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 commute29.2 min → 36.0 min▲ 6.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.8% → 4.5%▼ 0.3 pp

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

Public transit0.2% → 0.5%▲ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone79.2% → 83.2%▲ 4.0 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone83.2% ±5.8 pp
Carpool9.4% ±3.4 pp
Public transit0.5% ±0.8 pp
Walk0.9% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.5 pp
Work from home4.5% ±2.2 pp

Each share uses 3,697 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.

96thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 96% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

20thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 80% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

82thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 82% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

97th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 97% of covered countys in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate17,943± — MOE
Workers age 16+3,697± 440 MOE
Workers with travel time3,532± 434 MOE
Estimated home workers165± 83 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.