ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IL · GEOID 17791502024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Waterloo, Illinois

Mean one-way trip26.8 min±3.0 min MOE
Worked from home12.9%±4.3 pp MOE
Drove alone77.4%±4.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.1%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 commute27.9 min → 26.8 min▼ 1.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.7% → 12.9%▲ 2.2 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.0%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone77.0% → 77.4%▲ 0.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone77.4% ±4.8 pp
Carpool7.9% ±3.0 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.2 pp
Walk1.2% ±1.2 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.3 pp
Work from home12.9% ±4.3 pp

Each share uses 5,769 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.

61thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 61% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

56thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 56% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

36thTransit percentile

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

37th60+ minute percentile

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

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate11,129± 38 MOE
Workers age 16+5,769± 278 MOE
Workers with travel time5,023± 349 MOE
Estimated home workers746± 252 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.