ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IL · GEOID 17572252024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Palatine, Illinois

Mean one-way trip27.7 min±2.0 min MOE
Worked from home20.6%±2.2 pp MOE
Drove alone69.4%±2.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip8.3%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 commute28.4 min → 27.7 min▼ 0.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home13.2% → 20.6%▲ 7.4 pp

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

Public transit3.8% → 2.3%▼ 1.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone72.1% → 69.4%▼ 2.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone69.4% ±2.3 pp
Carpool5.4% ±1.1 pp
Public transit2.3% ±0.6 pp
Walk1.0% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.4 pp
Work from home20.6% ±2.2 pp

Each share uses 36,323 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.

65thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 65% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

76thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 76% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

75thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 75% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

63th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 63% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate66,293± 190 MOE
Workers age 16+36,323± 1,218 MOE
Workers with travel time28,828± 1,281 MOE
Estimated home workers7,495± 833 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.