ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NC · GEOID 37240802024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Forest City, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip26.3 min±5.8 min MOE
Worked from home6.0%±4.2 pp MOE
Drove alone80.5%±7.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip12.2%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 commute23.6 min → 26.3 min▲ 2.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home3.8% → 6.0%▲ 2.2 pp

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

Public transit0.8% → 0.7%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone79.9% → 80.5%▲ 0.6 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone80.5% ±7.9 pp
Carpool10.1% ±5.8 pp
Public transit0.7% ±1.1 pp
Walk2.7% ±3.5 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.7 pp
Work from home6.0% ±4.2 pp

Each share uses 2,572 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.

59thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 59% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

19thWork-from-home percentile

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

62thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 62% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

79th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 79% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate7,363± 34 MOE
Workers age 16+2,572± 281 MOE
Workers with travel time2,418± 309 MOE
Estimated home workers154± 109 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.