ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NC · GEOID 37190002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Durham, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip22.3 min±0.8 min MOE
Worked from home23.3%±1.0 pp MOE
Drove alone62.2%±1.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip4.3%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 commute22.5 min → 22.3 min▼ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.6% → 23.3%▲ 8.7 pp

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

Public transit2.7% → 1.9%▼ 0.7 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone70.7% → 62.2%▼ 8.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone62.2% ±1.3 pp
Carpool8.2% ±0.8 pp
Public transit1.9% ±0.3 pp
Walk2.2% ±0.4 pp
Bicycle0.6% ±0.1 pp
Work from home23.3% ±1.0 pp

Each share uses 156,140 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 100k–500k population band.

86thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 86% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

66thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 66% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

32th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 68% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate291,467± 190 MOE
Workers age 16+156,140± 1,800 MOE
Workers with travel time119,684± 2,151 MOE
Estimated home workers36,456± 1,578 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.