ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NC · GEOID 37105002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Carolina Beach, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip22.1 min±5.0 min MOE
Worked from home19.7%±5.4 pp MOE
Drove alone68.4%±7.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip1.8%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 commute25.2 min → 22.1 min▼ 3.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home11.5% → 19.7%▲ 8.2 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.0%— 0.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone76.8% → 68.4%▼ 8.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone68.4% ±7.6 pp
Carpool6.9% ±5.0 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.6 pp
Walk1.2% ±1.1 pp
Bicycle3.4% ±2.8 pp
Work from home19.7% ±5.4 pp

Each share uses 3,309 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.

33thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 67% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

79thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 79% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

18thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 82% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

7th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 93% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate6,745± 25 MOE
Workers age 16+3,309± 379 MOE
Workers with travel time2,656± 353 MOE
Estimated home workers653± 193 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.