ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · PA · GEOID 42021842024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Altoona, Pennsylvania

Mean one-way trip17.9 min±1.3 min MOE
Worked from home7.0%±1.4 pp MOE
Drove alone77.0%±2.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.5%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 commute19.0 min → 17.9 min▼ 1.1 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.1% → 7.0%▲ 3.0 pp

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

Public transit2.7% → 1.3%▼ 1.4 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone80.8% → 77.0%▼ 3.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone77.0% ±2.7 pp
Carpool10.0% ±1.9 pp
Public transit1.3% ±0.7 pp
Walk3.4% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.1% ±0.1 pp
Work from home7.0% ±1.4 pp

Each share uses 19,386 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.

9thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

13thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 87% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

60thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 60% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

6th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 94% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate43,196± 48 MOE
Workers age 16+19,386± 768 MOE
Workers with travel time18,023± 762 MOE
Estimated home workers1,363± 270 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.