ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6468982024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Merced, California

Mean one-way trip28.6 min±2.5 min MOE
Worked from home8.4%±1.3 pp MOE
Drove alone73.6%±2.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip13.2%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 commute27.3 min → 28.6 min▲ 1.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home5.9% → 8.4%▲ 2.6 pp

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

Public transit1.2% → 0.8%▼ 0.4 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone78.6% → 73.6%▼ 5.0 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone73.6% ±2.0 pp
Carpool8.4% ±1.1 pp
Public transit0.8% ±0.7 pp
Walk1.4% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.2 pp
Work from home8.4% ±1.3 pp

Each share uses 35,845 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.

70thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 70% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

20thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 80% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

47thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 53% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

84th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 84% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate91,953± 65 MOE
Workers age 16+35,845± 1,426 MOE
Workers with travel time32,821± 1,326 MOE
Estimated home workers3,024± 491 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.