ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25561652024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Reading, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip30.9 min±3.7 min MOE
Worked from home30.2%±4.1 pp MOE
Drove alone56.9%±4.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip14.7%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 commute33.9 min → 30.9 min▼ 3.0 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home19.4% → 30.2%▲ 10.9 pp

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

Public transit6.8% → 4.5%▼ 2.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone66.8% → 56.9%▼ 9.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone56.9% ±4.0 pp
Carpool7.0% ±2.6 pp
Public transit4.5% ±1.5 pp
Walk1.1% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.2 pp
Work from home30.2% ±4.1 pp

Each share uses 13,217 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 25k–100k population band.

95thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 95% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

87thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 87% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

88th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 88% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate25,612± 25 MOE
Workers age 16+13,217± 521 MOE
Workers with travel time9,221± 634 MOE
Estimated home workers3,996± 560 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.