ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · ME · GEOID 23719902024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

South Portland, Maine

Mean one-way trip17.1 min±1.5 min MOE
Worked from home19.5%±2.6 pp MOE
Drove alone65.5%±3.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.7%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 commute18.8 min → 17.1 min▼ 1.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.5% → 19.5%▲ 9.0 pp

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

Public transit3.1% → 0.4%▼ 2.7 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone73.4% → 65.5%▼ 7.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone65.5% ±3.4 pp
Carpool6.0% ±1.5 pp
Public transit0.4% ±0.3 pp
Walk4.7% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle1.1% ±0.9 pp
Work from home19.5% ±2.6 pp

Each share uses 16,201 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.

7thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 93% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

73thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 73% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

32thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 68% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

9th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate26,930± 31 MOE
Workers age 16+16,201± 643 MOE
Workers with travel time13,038± 648 MOE
Estimated home workers3,163± 445 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.