ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6691962024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Santa Maria, California

Mean one-way trip22.4 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home4.7%±1.0 pp MOE
Drove alone71.3%±2.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.8%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 commute22.2 min → 22.4 min▲ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.3% → 4.7%▲ 0.4 pp

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

Public transit1.8% → 1.8%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone71.4% → 71.3%▼ 0.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone71.3% ±2.1 pp
Carpool18.8% ±1.8 pp
Public transit1.8% ±0.6 pp
Walk1.4% ±0.4 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.2 pp
Work from home4.7% ±1.0 pp

Each share uses 47,828 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.

34thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 66% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

1thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 99% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

64thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 64% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

41th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 59% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate110,462± 74 MOE
Workers age 16+47,828± 1,397 MOE
Workers with travel time45,590± 1,425 MOE
Estimated home workers2,238± 492 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.