ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6552822024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Palo Alto, California

Mean one-way trip21.4 min±1.8 min MOE
Worked from home35.4%±2.7 pp MOE
Drove alone44.2%±2.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip3.5%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 commute24.4 min → 21.4 min▼ 2.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home24.1% → 35.4%▲ 11.3 pp

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

Public transit4.9% → 2.0%▼ 2.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone51.8% → 44.2%▼ 7.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone44.2% ±2.3 pp
Carpool4.6% ±1.3 pp
Public transit2.0% ±0.6 pp
Walk4.6% ±1.2 pp
Bicycle7.9% ±1.3 pp
Work from home35.4% ±2.7 pp

Each share uses 32,286 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.

25thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 75% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

98thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 98% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

71thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 71% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

18th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 82% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate67,237± 73 MOE
Workers age 16+32,286± 959 MOE
Workers with travel time20,872± 1,056 MOE
Estimated home workers11,414± 925 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.