ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MN · GEOID 27084522024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Buffalo, Minnesota

Mean one-way trip26.5 min±3.7 min MOE
Worked from home12.6%±2.3 pp MOE
Drove alone76.9%±4.8 pp MOE
60+ minute trip9.9%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 commute27.3 min → 26.5 min▼ 0.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home6.6% → 12.6%▲ 6.0 pp

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

Public transit0.5% → 0.2%▼ 0.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone82.4% → 76.9%▼ 5.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone76.9% ±4.8 pp
Carpool7.6% ±2.5 pp
Public transit0.2% ±0.3 pp
Walk0.8% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.3 pp
Work from home12.6% ±2.3 pp

Each share uses 8,085 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.

60thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 60% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

54thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 54% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

47thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 53% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

70th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 70% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate16,499± 61 MOE
Workers age 16+8,085± 589 MOE
Workers with travel time7,068± 593 MOE
Estimated home workers1,017± 198 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.