ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MN · GEOID 27158322024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

Mean one-way trip14.2 min±2.2 min MOE
Worked from home6.6%±2.3 pp MOE
Drove alone77.9%±6.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.9%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 commute14.7 min → 14.2 min▼ 0.5 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home9.7% → 6.6%▼ 3.1 pp

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

Public transit0.7% → 0.9%▲ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone75.4% → 77.9%▲ 2.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone77.9% ±6.0 pp
Carpool9.7% ±3.2 pp
Public transit0.9% ±0.8 pp
Walk4.0% ±2.0 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.4 pp
Work from home6.6% ±2.3 pp

Each share uses 4,466 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.

4thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 96% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

23thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 77% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

65thTransit percentile

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

44th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 56% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate10,025± 34 MOE
Workers age 16+4,466± 341 MOE
Workers with travel time4,170± 343 MOE
Estimated home workers296± 103 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.