ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · NY · GEOID 36183882024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Cortland, New York

Mean one-way trip16.8 min±1.6 min MOE
Worked from home6.9%±1.9 pp MOE
Drove alone65.6%±5.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.2%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 commute17.0 min → 16.8 min▼ 0.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.2% → 6.9%▲ 2.6 pp

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

Public transit1.2% → 1.4%▲ 0.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone66.7% → 65.6%▼ 1.1 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone65.6% ±5.0 pp
Carpool14.1% ±4.4 pp
Public transit1.4% ±1.5 pp
Walk10.3% ±2.2 pp
Bicycle0.7% ±0.6 pp
Work from home6.9% ±1.9 pp

Each share uses 8,392 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.

8thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 92% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

24thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 76% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

73thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 73% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

10th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 90% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate17,450± 22 MOE
Workers age 16+8,392± 287 MOE
Workers with travel time7,815± 314 MOE
Estimated home workers577± 164 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.