What is the average commute in South Portland city, Maine?

The 2024 ACS five-year mean one-way commute estimate is 17.1 min, excluding people who worked from home.

What share of workers in South Portland city, Maine work from home?

The 2024 ACS five-year work-from-home estimate is 19.5%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Are the 2021 and 2024 commute estimates independent?

No. The five-year periods overlap, so their difference is presented as directional rather than an independent annual or causal change.

PLACE · ME · GEOID 23719902024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

South Portland, Maine

Name: Commute estimates for South Portland city, Maine
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 17.1 min one way; 19.5% worked from home, 65.5% drove alone, and 2.7% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

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 South Portland city's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed -1.6 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +9.0 percentage points.

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 South Portland city residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 65.5%; 0.4% used public transit and 19.5% worked from home.

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

How South Portland city compares with similar-size places

This place's mean commute is at the 7th percentile among covered 25k–100k places; each percentile describes one metric only.

Percentiles are single-metric context, never a “good commute” score.

7^thMean commute percentile

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

73^thWork-from-home percentile

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

32^thTransit percentile

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

9^th60+ 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 South Portland city's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 16,201 workers age 16+, including 13,038 workers with reported travel time and 3,163 home workers.

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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable Maine commute records for South Portland city

These 3 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All Maine reports →