ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6551842024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Palm Desert, California

Mean one-way trip21.0 min±2.6 min MOE
Worked from home14.9%±2.8 pp MOE
Drove alone69.0%±3.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.3%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 commute22.2 min → 21.0 min▼ 1.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home12.3% → 14.9%▲ 2.6 pp

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

Public transit1.4% → 0.7%▼ 0.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone67.3% → 69.0%▲ 1.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone69.0% ±3.1 pp
Carpool13.3% ±6.1 pp
Public transit0.7% ±0.6 pp
Walk1.1% ±0.6 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.2 pp
Work from home14.9% ±2.8 pp

Each share uses 20,568 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.

22thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 78% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

57thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 57% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

45thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 55% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

39th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 61% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate51,990± 43 MOE
Workers age 16+20,568± 1,145 MOE
Workers with travel time17,507± 1,300 MOE
Estimated home workers3,061± 604 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.