ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IA · GEOID 19799502024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Urbandale, Iowa

Mean one-way trip18.9 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home17.9%±2.3 pp MOE
Drove alone71.0%±2.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip3.0%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 commute19.2 min → 18.9 min▼ 0.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home12.2% → 17.9%▲ 5.6 pp

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

Public transit0.6% → 0.5%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone77.8% → 71.0%▼ 6.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone71.0% ±2.4 pp
Carpool7.8% ±2.0 pp
Public transit0.5% ±0.5 pp
Walk0.7% ±0.3 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.0 pp
Work from home17.9% ±2.3 pp

Each share uses 24,566 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.

13thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 87% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

67thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 67% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

36thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 64% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

13th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 87% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate46,595± 58 MOE
Workers age 16+24,566± 890 MOE
Workers with travel time20,180± 829 MOE
Estimated home workers4,386± 578 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.