ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6700002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Santa Monica, California

Mean one-way trip24.8 min±2.2 min MOE
Worked from home38.4%±1.9 pp MOE
Drove alone47.0%±2.3 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 commute26.0 min → 24.8 min▼ 1.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home22.4% → 38.4%▲ 16.0 pp

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

Public transit3.4% → 2.2%▼ 1.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone58.7% → 47.0%▼ 11.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone47.0% ±2.3 pp
Carpool2.8% ±0.9 pp
Public transit2.2% ±0.6 pp
Walk4.8% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle1.9% ±0.5 pp
Work from home38.4% ±1.9 pp

Each share uses 50,357 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.

46thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 54% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

99thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 99% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

74thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 74% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

52th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 52% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate91,169± 42 MOE
Workers age 16+50,357± 1,314 MOE
Workers with travel time31,042± 1,411 MOE
Estimated home workers19,315± 1,084 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.