ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · AL · GEOID 1632882024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Rainbow City, Alabama

Mean one-way trip26.7 min±6.5 min MOE
Worked from home8.0%±3.9 pp MOE
Drove alone78.4%±5.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip10.7%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 commute20.5 min → 26.7 min▲ 6.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.8% → 8.0%▲ 3.2 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 1.4%▲ 1.4 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone83.1% → 78.4%▼ 4.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone78.4% ±5.1 pp
Carpool11.0% ±6.0 pp
Public transit1.4% ±1.4 pp
Walk0.0% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.5 pp
Work from home8.0% ±3.9 pp

Each share uses 3,948 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

Compared with similar-size places

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

61thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 61% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

31thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 69% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

73thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 73% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

73th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 73% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate10,284± 44 MOE
Workers age 16+3,948± 514 MOE
Workers with travel time3,631± 510 MOE
Estimated home workers317± 159 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.