ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MI · GEOID 26059202024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Battle Creek, Michigan

Mean one-way trip18.6 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home8.5%±1.7 pp MOE
Drove alone77.2%±2.2 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.6%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 commute18.4 min → 18.6 min▲ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home6.2% → 8.5%▲ 2.3 pp

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

Public transit1.8% → 0.5%▼ 1.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone76.9% → 77.2%▲ 0.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone77.2% ±2.2 pp
Carpool10.2% ±2.0 pp
Public transit0.5% ±0.3 pp
Walk2.3% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle0.5% ±0.4 pp
Work from home8.5% ±1.7 pp

Each share uses 23,050 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.

12thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 88% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

20thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 80% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

35thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 65% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

31th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 69% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate52,374± 52 MOE
Workers age 16+23,050± 750 MOE
Workers with travel time21,087± 753 MOE
Estimated home workers1,963± 387 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.