ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6165322024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Costa Mesa, California

Mean one-way trip22.4 min±1.1 min MOE
Worked from home22.2%±1.6 pp MOE
Drove alone62.4%±1.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.6%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 commute22.5 min → 22.4 min▼ 0.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.3% → 22.2%▲ 7.9 pp

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

Public transit1.6% → 1.6%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone70.4% → 62.4%▼ 8.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone62.4% ±1.8 pp
Carpool8.2% ±1.3 pp
Public transit1.6% ±0.5 pp
Walk2.1% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle1.2% ±0.4 pp
Work from home22.2% ±1.6 pp

Each share uses 63,538 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.

34thMean commute percentile

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

85thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 85% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

61thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 61% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

38th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 62% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate110,330± 43 MOE
Workers age 16+63,538± 1,329 MOE
Workers with travel time49,412± 1,479 MOE
Estimated home workers14,126± 1,059 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.