ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25398352024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Medford, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip30.2 min±2.0 min MOE
Worked from home26.8%±2.4 pp MOE
Drove alone48.4%±2.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip8.5%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 commute30.5 min → 30.2 min▼ 0.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.4% → 26.8%▲ 12.4 pp

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

Public transit16.5% → 11.9%▼ 4.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone52.9% → 48.4%▼ 4.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone48.4% ±2.6 pp
Carpool6.0% ±1.5 pp
Public transit11.9% ±1.5 pp
Walk3.8% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle2.0% ±0.9 pp
Work from home26.8% ±2.4 pp

Each share uses 35,172 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 25k–100k population band.

90thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 90% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

98thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 98% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

65th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 65% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate59,354± 38 MOE
Workers age 16+35,172± 1,219 MOE
Workers with travel time25,742± 1,172 MOE
Estimated home workers9,430± 897 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.