ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IA · GEOID 19576752024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Norwalk, Iowa

Mean one-way trip21.6 min±3.1 min MOE
Worked from home19.1%±3.4 pp MOE
Drove alone74.1%±5.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.2%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 commute23.1 min → 21.6 min▼ 1.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.5% → 19.1%▲ 8.6 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.0%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone83.2% → 74.1%▼ 9.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone74.1% ±5.3 pp
Carpool3.5% ±1.6 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.2 pp
Walk1.9% ±1.2 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.4 pp
Work from home19.1% ±3.4 pp

Each share uses 7,357 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.

30thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 70% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

77thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 77% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

18thTransit percentile

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

28th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 72% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate14,183± 22 MOE
Workers age 16+7,357± 411 MOE
Workers with travel time5,951± 464 MOE
Estimated home workers1,406± 261 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.