ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25441402024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Needham, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip27.7 min±2.7 min MOE
Worked from home32.4%±2.4 pp MOE
Drove alone52.7%±2.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip6.7%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 commute31.4 min → 27.7 min▼ 3.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home19.4% → 32.4%▲ 13.0 pp

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

Public transit10.6% → 7.6%▼ 3.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone63.3% → 52.7%▼ 10.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone52.7% ±2.9 pp
Carpool4.4% ±1.5 pp
Public transit7.6% ±1.6 pp
Walk2.2% ±0.8 pp
Bicycle0.1% ±0.2 pp
Work from home32.4% ±2.4 pp

Each share uses 15,726 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.

65thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 65% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

97thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 97% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

94thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 94% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

51th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 51% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate32,459± 33 MOE
Workers age 16+15,726± 573 MOE
Workers with travel time10,631± 598 MOE
Estimated home workers5,095± 418 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.