ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IL · GEOID 17534812024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Northbrook, Illinois

Mean one-way trip26.8 min±3.2 min MOE
Worked from home32.4%±4.5 pp MOE
Drove alone53.8%±3.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip10.9%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 commute29.0 min → 26.8 min▼ 2.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home20.4% → 32.4%▲ 12.0 pp

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

Public transit10.6% → 5.7%▼ 4.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone59.3% → 53.8%▼ 5.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone53.8% ±3.8 pp
Carpool4.1% ±1.4 pp
Public transit5.7% ±1.5 pp
Walk2.0% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.6% ±0.6 pp
Work from home32.4% ±4.5 pp

Each share uses 16,038 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.

59thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 59% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

97thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 97% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

91thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

78th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 78% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate34,585± 223 MOE
Workers age 16+16,038± 696 MOE
Workers with travel time10,844± 778 MOE
Estimated home workers5,194± 758 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.