ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6111942024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Carlsbad, California

Mean one-way trip27.1 min±2.0 min MOE
Worked from home31.9%±2.0 pp MOE
Drove alone59.6%±1.5 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 the published estimate?

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

Mean commute27.8 min → 27.1 min▼ 0.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home21.7% → 31.9%▲ 10.3 pp

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

Public transit1.0% → 0.8%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone69.2% → 59.6%▼ 9.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone59.6% ±1.5 pp
Carpool5.0% ±1.2 pp
Public transit0.8% ±0.4 pp
Walk1.3% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.2 pp
Work from home31.9% ±2.0 pp

Each share uses 54,224 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.

66thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 66% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

97thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 97% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

38thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 62% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

66th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 66% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate114,373± 104 MOE
Workers age 16+54,224± 1,677 MOE
Workers with travel time36,914± 1,587 MOE
Estimated home workers17,310± 1,209 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.