ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IL · GEOID 17411052024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Lake Forest, Illinois

Mean one-way trip31.3 min±7.3 min MOE
Worked from home30.3%±4.2 pp MOE
Drove alone46.1%±4.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip21.3%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 commute34.4 min → 31.3 min▼ 3.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home23.6% → 30.3%▲ 6.7 pp

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

Public transit14.2% → 12.3%▼ 1.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone51.9% → 46.1%▼ 5.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone46.1% ±4.3 pp
Carpool1.8% ±0.9 pp
Public transit12.3% ±6.5 pp
Walk5.5% ±1.3 pp
Bicycle0.8% ±0.9 pp
Work from home30.3% ±4.2 pp

Each share uses 8,562 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.

82thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 82% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

95thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 95% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

98thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 98% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

95th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 95% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate19,416± 559 MOE
Workers age 16+8,562± 496 MOE
Workers with travel time5,971± 621 MOE
Estimated home workers2,591± 393 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.