ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NJ · GEOID 34456902024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Metuchen, New Jersey

Mean one-way trip38.3 min±4.9 min MOE
Worked from home26.9%±3.5 pp MOE
Drove alone48.5%±3.1 pp MOE
60+ minute trip26.8%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 commute38.5 min → 38.3 min▼ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home14.9% → 26.9%▲ 12.0 pp

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

Public transit21.3% → 15.7%▼ 5.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone55.5% → 48.5%▼ 7.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone48.5% ±3.1 pp
Carpool6.4% ±2.3 pp
Public transit15.7% ±2.9 pp
Walk2.1% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.3 pp
Work from home26.9% ±3.5 pp

Each share uses 7,582 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.

97thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 97% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

92thWork-from-home percentile

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

99thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 99% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

98th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 98% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate15,144± 39 MOE
Workers age 16+7,582± 398 MOE
Workers with travel time5,540± 430 MOE
Estimated home workers2,042± 288 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.