ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6681962024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

San Marcos, California

Mean one-way trip26.5 min±1.9 min MOE
Worked from home20.5%±2.1 pp MOE
Drove alone67.7%±2.5 pp MOE
60+ minute trip6.8%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 commute26.2 min → 26.5 min▲ 0.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home13.9% → 20.5%▲ 6.7 pp

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

Public transit0.5% → 0.5%▲ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone74.9% → 67.7%▼ 7.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone67.7% ±2.5 pp
Carpool8.0% ±1.2 pp
Public transit0.5% ±0.2 pp
Walk1.5% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle0.6% ±0.4 pp
Work from home20.5% ±2.1 pp

Each share uses 45,677 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.

57thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 57% 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.

38thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 62% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

53th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 53% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate94,882± 68 MOE
Workers age 16+45,677± 1,393 MOE
Workers with travel time36,308± 1,574 MOE
Estimated home workers9,369± 991 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.