ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25098752024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Burlington, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip27.5 min±3.7 min MOE
Worked from home22.5%±3.2 pp MOE
Drove alone68.6%±2.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip8.8%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 commute29.1 min → 27.5 min▼ 1.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.7% → 22.5%▲ 7.8 pp

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

Public transit4.0% → 3.0%▼ 0.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone74.7% → 68.6%▼ 6.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone68.6% ±2.6 pp
Carpool4.9% ±1.8 pp
Public transit3.0% ±2.3 pp
Walk0.3% ±0.3 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.3 pp
Work from home22.5% ±3.2 pp

Each share uses 13,947 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.

63thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 63% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

80thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 80% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

81thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 81% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

67th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 67% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate26,274± 26 MOE
Workers age 16+13,947± 716 MOE
Workers with travel time10,808± 743 MOE
Estimated home workers3,139± 481 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.