ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · KS · GEOID 20460002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Merriam, Kansas

Mean one-way trip22.2 min±3.0 min MOE
Worked from home19.6%±3.2 pp MOE
Drove alone72.6%±3.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.7%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 commute19.4 min → 22.2 min▲ 2.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home12.9% → 19.6%▲ 6.7 pp

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

Public transit0.2% → 0.5%▲ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone82.3% → 72.6%▼ 9.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone72.6% ±3.6 pp
Carpool4.5% ±2.2 pp
Public transit0.5% ±0.7 pp
Walk2.2% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle0.2% ±0.3 pp
Work from home19.6% ±3.2 pp

Each share uses 6,080 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.

34thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 66% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

78thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 78% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

55thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 55% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

33th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 67% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate11,085± 31 MOE
Workers age 16+6,080± 337 MOE
Workers with travel time4,886± 327 MOE
Estimated home workers1,194± 207 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.