ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MA · GEOID 25686802024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Swampscott, Massachusetts

Mean one-way trip34.3 min±6.1 min MOE
Worked from home27.2%±4.6 pp MOE
Drove alone54.5%±4.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip23.1%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 commute35.4 min → 34.3 min▼ 1.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home17.0% → 27.2%▲ 10.2 pp

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

Public transit14.5% → 11.4%▼ 3.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone59.6% → 54.5%▼ 5.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone54.5% ±4.9 pp
Carpool4.7% ±2.0 pp
Public transit11.4% ±5.1 pp
Walk1.5% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle0.1% ±0.2 pp
Work from home27.2% ±4.6 pp

Each share uses 7,642 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.

91thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 91% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

92thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 92% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

97thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 97% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

96th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 96% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate15,277± 21 MOE
Workers age 16+7,642± 610 MOE
Workers with travel time5,562± 606 MOE
Estimated home workers2,080± 390 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.