ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NC · GEOID 37118002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip19.5 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home28.1%±2.1 pp MOE
Drove alone47.1%±2.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip3.4%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 commute19.6 min → 19.5 min▼ 0.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home21.9% → 28.1%▲ 6.3 pp

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

Public transit8.1% → 7.0%▼ 1.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone51.2% → 47.1%▼ 4.0 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone47.1% ±2.3 pp
Carpool5.9% ±1.9 pp
Public transit7.0% ±1.2 pp
Walk8.0% ±1.4 pp
Bicycle2.6% ±0.8 pp
Work from home28.1% ±2.1 pp

Each share uses 29,039 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.

15thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 85% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

92thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 92% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

93thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 93% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

17th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 83% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate61,607± 41 MOE
Workers age 16+29,039± 880 MOE
Workers with travel time20,865± 862 MOE
Estimated home workers8,174± 668 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.