ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · CA · GEOID 6813162024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

University of California-Santa Barbara, California

Mean one-way trip14.3 min±3.5 min MOE
Worked from home16.8%±5.5 pp MOE
Drove alone22.7%±4.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.3%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 commute15.1 min → 14.3 min▼ 0.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home12.9% → 16.8%▲ 3.9 pp

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

Public transit3.7% → 6.6%▲ 2.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone19.2% → 22.7%▲ 3.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone22.7% ±4.6 pp
Carpool4.6% ±1.9 pp
Public transit6.6% ±3.0 pp
Walk24.5% ±4.8 pp
Bicycle23.2% ±4.8 pp
Work from home16.8% ±5.5 pp

Each share uses 4,450 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.

4thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 96% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

70thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 70% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

93thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 93% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

10th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 90% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate12,121± 523 MOE
Workers age 16+4,450± 687 MOE
Workers with travel time3,701± 564 MOE
Estimated home workers749± 272 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.