ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6682522024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

San Mateo, California

Mean one-way trip26.1 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home24.8%±1.7 pp MOE
Drove alone57.7%±1.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip7.0%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 commute28.9 min → 26.1 min▼ 2.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home15.5% → 24.8%▲ 9.3 pp

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

Public transit8.3% → 4.9%▼ 3.4 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone61.4% → 57.7%▼ 3.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone57.7% ±1.8 pp
Carpool7.0% ±1.0 pp
Public transit4.9% ±1.0 pp
Walk2.7% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle0.5% ±0.3 pp
Work from home24.8% ±1.7 pp

Each share uses 54,886 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.

60thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 60% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

89thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 89% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

87thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 87% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

60th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 60% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate103,105± 92 MOE
Workers age 16+54,886± 1,347 MOE
Workers with travel time41,298± 1,336 MOE
Estimated home workers13,588± 980 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.