ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NC · GEOID 37483452024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Oak Island, North Carolina

Mean one-way trip23.4 min±5.2 min MOE
Worked from home24.9%±6.3 pp MOE
Drove alone66.9%±7.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip5.1%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 commute24.0 min → 23.4 min▼ 0.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home21.6% → 24.9%▲ 3.3 pp

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

Public transit1.1% → 1.3%▲ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone73.9% → 66.9%▼ 7.0 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone66.9% ±7.6 pp
Carpool4.4% ±3.2 pp
Public transit1.3% ±0.9 pp
Walk1.1% ±1.2 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.5 pp
Work from home24.9% ±6.3 pp

Each share uses 3,546 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.

41thMean commute percentile

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

89thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 89% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

72thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 72% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

37th60+ minute percentile

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

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate9,030± 24 MOE
Workers age 16+3,546± 376 MOE
Workers with travel time2,664± 351 MOE
Estimated home workers882± 243 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.