ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25521442024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Palmer Town, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip31.3 min±5.6 min MOE
Worked from home7.3%±2.7 pp MOE
Drove alone81.6%±6.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip12.8%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 commute31.7 min → 31.3 min▼ 0.4 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home6.5% → 7.3%▲ 0.8 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.2%▲ 0.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone84.2% → 81.6%▼ 2.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone81.6% ±6.4 pp
Carpool7.7% ±4.1 pp
Public transit0.2% ±0.4 pp
Walk1.6% ±1.2 pp
Bicycle0.1% ±0.1 pp
Work from home7.3% ±2.7 pp

Each share uses 6,404 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.

82thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 82% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

27thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 73% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

46thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 54% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

81th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 81% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate12,381± 35 MOE
Workers age 16+6,404± 522 MOE
Workers with travel time5,937± 557 MOE
Estimated home workers467± 175 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.