ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NJ · GEOID 34693902024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

South Plainfield, New Jersey

Mean one-way trip29.7 min±2.5 min MOE
Worked from home16.4%±3.0 pp MOE
Drove alone72.0%±3.3 pp MOE
60+ minute trip12.6%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 commute28.5 min → 29.7 min▲ 1.3 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.0% → 16.4%▲ 6.3 pp

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

Public transit3.0% → 2.1%▼ 0.9 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone77.8% → 72.0%▼ 5.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone72.0% ±3.3 pp
Carpool7.9% ±2.0 pp
Public transit2.1% ±0.9 pp
Walk1.0% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.2 pp
Work from home16.4% ±3.0 pp

Each share uses 12,385 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.

76thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 76% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

69thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 69% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

79thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 79% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

80th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 80% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate24,473± 44 MOE
Workers age 16+12,385± 542 MOE
Workers with travel time10,356± 564 MOE
Estimated home workers2,029± 380 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.