ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25455602024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Newton, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip26.6 min±1.5 min MOE
Worked from home32.2%±2.0 pp MOE
Drove alone47.5%±1.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip7.6%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 commute27.6 min → 26.6 min▼ 1.0 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home20.7% → 32.2%▲ 11.5 pp

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

Public transit11.5% → 7.7%▼ 3.8 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone53.9% → 47.5%▼ 6.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone47.5% ±1.8 pp
Carpool5.8% ±0.9 pp
Public transit7.7% ±1.1 pp
Walk4.9% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.9% ±0.3 pp
Work from home32.2% ±2.0 pp

Each share uses 45,931 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.

58thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 58% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

96thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 96% 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.

58th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 58% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate89,044± 48 MOE
Workers age 16+45,931± 1,132 MOE
Workers with travel time31,145± 1,185 MOE
Estimated home workers14,786± 975 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.