ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6567842024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Petaluma, California

Mean one-way trip30.7 min±2.5 min MOE
Worked from home20.5%±1.9 pp MOE
Drove alone66.7%±2.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip14.1%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 commute31.3 min → 30.7 min▼ 0.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home13.3% → 20.5%▲ 7.2 pp

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

Public transit2.3% → 1.8%▼ 0.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone70.8% → 66.7%▼ 4.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone66.7% ±2.4 pp
Carpool7.6% ±1.5 pp
Public transit1.8% ±0.7 pp
Walk2.3% ±0.6 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.3 pp
Work from home20.5% ±1.9 pp

Each share uses 29,806 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.

81thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 81% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

75thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 75% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

68thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 68% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

87th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 87% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate59,247± 61 MOE
Workers age 16+29,806± 833 MOE
Workers with travel time23,705± 992 MOE
Estimated home workers6,101± 586 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.