ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6303782024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Goleta, California

Mean one-way trip17.8 min±2.0 min MOE
Worked from home18.4%±2.3 pp MOE
Drove alone61.4%±3.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.2%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 commute18.2 min → 17.8 min▼ 0.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home11.8% → 18.4%▲ 6.6 pp

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

Public transit1.6% → 2.8%▲ 1.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone68.6% → 61.4%▼ 7.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone61.4% ±3.0 pp
Carpool11.4% ±2.6 pp
Public transit2.8% ±1.3 pp
Walk2.5% ±1.3 pp
Bicycle2.5% ±0.7 pp
Work from home18.4% ±2.3 pp

Each share uses 17,909 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.

9thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

69thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 69% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

79thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 79% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

27th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 73% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate32,685± 44 MOE
Workers age 16+17,909± 724 MOE
Workers with travel time14,612± 758 MOE
Estimated home workers3,297± 435 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.