ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MD · GEOID 24071252024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Bethesda, Maryland

Mean one-way trip27.7 min±2.1 min MOE
Worked from home38.0%±2.0 pp MOE
Drove alone39.8%±1.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip6.2%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 commute29.2 min → 27.7 min▼ 1.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home24.7% → 38.0%▲ 13.2 pp

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

Public transit12.6% → 9.6%▼ 3.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone49.1% → 39.8%▼ 9.3 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone39.8% ±1.7 pp
Carpool3.7% ±1.1 pp
Public transit9.6% ±1.3 pp
Walk6.0% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle1.5% ±0.4 pp
Work from home38.0% ±2.0 pp

Each share uses 36,061 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.

99thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 99% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

96thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 96% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

47th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 53% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate69,397± 2,523 MOE
Workers age 16+36,061± 1,319 MOE
Workers with travel time22,375± 1,080 MOE
Estimated home workers13,686± 883 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.