ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · MN · GEOID 27493002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Owatonna, Minnesota

Mean one-way trip17.7 min±2.2 min MOE
Worked from home8.3%±2.1 pp MOE
Drove alone81.7%±3.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.2%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 commute16.7 min → 17.7 min▲ 1.0 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home5.1% → 8.3%▲ 3.2 pp

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

Public transit1.4% → 1.2%▼ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone84.5% → 81.7%▼ 2.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone81.7% ±3.0 pp
Carpool5.8% ±2.0 pp
Public transit1.2% ±0.8 pp
Walk1.8% ±0.8 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.3 pp
Work from home8.3% ±2.1 pp

Each share uses 12,829 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.

9thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

19thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 81% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

57thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 57% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

37th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 63% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate26,498± 62 MOE
Workers age 16+12,829± 564 MOE
Workers with travel time11,769± 619 MOE
Estimated home workers1,060± 276 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.