ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IA · GEOID 19756302024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Storm Lake, Iowa

Mean one-way trip10.1 min±1.5 min MOE
Worked from home4.3%±1.3 pp MOE
Drove alone68.0%±6.2 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.0%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 commute10.2 min → 10.1 min▼ 0.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home6.1% → 4.3%▼ 1.7 pp

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

Public transit0.4% → 1.0%▲ 0.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone61.2% → 68.0%▲ 6.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone68.0% ±6.2 pp
Carpool20.1% ±4.8 pp
Public transit1.0% ±1.2 pp
Walk6.1% ±2.3 pp
Bicycle0.5% ±0.6 pp
Work from home4.3% ±1.3 pp

Each share uses 5,633 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.

0thMean commute percentile

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

10thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 90% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

67thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 67% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

8th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 92% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate11,428± 49 MOE
Workers age 16+5,633± 345 MOE
Workers with travel time5,390± 341 MOE
Estimated home workers243± 76 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.