ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25401152024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Melrose, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip34.5 min±3.3 min MOE
Worked from home29.6%±2.7 pp MOE
Drove alone48.6%±2.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip15.9%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 commute36.2 min → 34.5 min▼ 1.7 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home18.2% → 29.6%▲ 11.4 pp

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

Public transit19.5% → 12.4%▼ 7.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone55.1% → 48.6%▼ 6.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone48.6% ±2.9 pp
Carpool5.4% ±1.8 pp
Public transit12.4% ±2.1 pp
Walk1.8% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle0.5% ±0.7 pp
Work from home29.6% ±2.7 pp

Each share uses 16,058 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.

94thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 94% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

94thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 94% 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.

91th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate29,650± 28 MOE
Workers age 16+16,058± 540 MOE
Workers with travel time11,310± 696 MOE
Estimated home workers4,748± 467 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.