ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IA · GEOID 19381002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Independence, Iowa

Mean one-way trip20.3 min±3.3 min MOE
Worked from home5.8%±2.7 pp MOE
Drove alone81.3%±5.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip7.4%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 → 20.3 min▼ 1.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home5.6% → 5.8%▲ 0.2 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.7%▲ 0.7 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone85.9% → 81.3%▼ 4.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone81.3% ±5.1 pp
Carpool9.0% ±3.5 pp
Public transit0.7% ±1.0 pp
Walk2.5% ±2.2 pp
Bicycle0.8% ±0.9 pp
Work from home5.8% ±2.7 pp

Each share uses 3,356 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.

23thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 77% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

18thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 82% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

60thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 60% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

55th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 55% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate6,164± 32 MOE
Workers age 16+3,356± 209 MOE
Workers with travel time3,163± 212 MOE
Estimated home workers193± 92 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.