ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IN · GEOID 18415352024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Lake Station, Indiana

Mean one-way trip26.8 min±5.8 min MOE
Worked from home4.4%±2.1 pp MOE
Drove alone85.3%±4.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip9.6%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 commute28.0 min → 26.8 min▼ 1.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home3.2% → 4.4%▲ 1.2 pp

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

Public transit0.2% → 0.0%▼ 0.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone86.3% → 85.3%▼ 1.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone85.3% ±4.4 pp
Carpool5.8% ±3.0 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.4 pp
Walk1.7% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.4 pp
Work from home4.4% ±2.1 pp

Each share uses 4,917 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.

11thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 89% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

18thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 82% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

68th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 68% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate13,185± 475 MOE
Workers age 16+4,917± 589 MOE
Workers with travel time4,700± 570 MOE
Estimated home workers217± 108 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.