ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · IN · GEOID 18710002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

South Bend, Indiana

Mean one-way trip20.2 min±1.2 min MOE
Worked from home11.2%±1.7 pp MOE
Drove alone71.1%±1.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip3.6%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 commute20.1 min → 20.2 min▲ 0.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home8.4% → 11.2%▲ 2.8 pp

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

Public transit2.0% → 1.6%▼ 0.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone73.7% → 71.1%▼ 2.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone71.1% ±1.0 pp
Carpool11.6% ±1.4 pp
Public transit1.6% ±0.5 pp
Walk2.2% ±0.4 pp
Bicycle1.1% ±0.3 pp
Work from home11.2% ±1.7 pp

Each share uses 45,654 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.

20thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 80% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

32thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 68% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

60thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 60% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

21th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 79% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate103,085± 716 MOE
Workers age 16+45,654± 1,359 MOE
Workers with travel time40,529± 1,311 MOE
Estimated home workers5,125± 783 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.