ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25254852024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Gardner, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip30.5 min±4.5 min MOE
Worked from home13.3%±3.6 pp MOE
Drove alone68.8%±4.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip14.0%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 commute32.3 min → 30.5 min▼ 1.7 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home7.7% → 13.3%▲ 5.7 pp

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

Public transit0.9% → 1.7%▲ 0.8 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone74.7% → 68.8%▼ 5.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone68.8% ±4.9 pp
Carpool10.5% ±4.8 pp
Public transit1.7% ±1.7 pp
Walk2.7% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.4 pp
Work from home13.3% ±3.6 pp

Each share uses 9,426 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.

79thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 79% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

58thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 58% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

77thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 77% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

84th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 84% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate21,148± 23 MOE
Workers age 16+9,426± 573 MOE
Workers with travel time8,170± 612 MOE
Estimated home workers1,256± 347 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.