What is the average commute in Lancaster city, Pennsylvania?

The 2024 ACS five-year mean one-way commute estimate is 23.6 min, excluding people who worked from home.

What share of workers in Lancaster city, Pennsylvania work from home?

The 2024 ACS five-year work-from-home estimate is 10.3%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.

Are the 2021 and 2024 commute estimates independent?

No. The five-year periods overlap, so their difference is presented as directional rather than an independent annual or causal change.

PLACE · PA · GEOID 42412162024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Name: Commute estimates for Lancaster city, Pennsylvania
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright

According to the 2024 ACS five-year estimates, residents here averaged 23.6 min one way; 10.3% worked from home, 59.8% drove alone, and 6.8% of commuters traveled 60 minutes or more.

Mean one-way trip23.6 min±2.0 min MOE

Worked from home10.3%±1.7 pp MOE

Drove alone59.8%±2.3 pp MOE

60+ minute trip6.8%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 Lancaster city's published commute estimate?

From the 2021 to 2024 overlapping ACS periods, mean commute changed +0.6 minutes and the work-from-home share changed +3.7 percentage points.

These periods overlap: 2021 covers 2017–2021 and 2024 covers 2020–2024. Changes are directional comparisons, not independent annual measurements.

Mean commute23.0 min → 23.6 min▲ 0.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home6.6% → 10.3%▲ 3.7 pp

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

Public transit4.5% → 4.3%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone62.7% → 59.8%▼ 2.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How Lancaster city residents usually get to work

Driving alone was the largest listed mode at 59.8%; 4.3% used public transit and 10.3% worked from home.

Drive alone59.8% ±2.3 pp

Carpool11.9% ±2.1 pp

Public transit4.3% ±1.0 pp

Walk10.2% ±1.5 pp

Bicycle1.4% ±0.5 pp

Work from home10.3% ±1.7 pp

Each share uses 28,997 estimated workers as its denominator. Categories shown here do not include every ACS mode.

03 / PEER CONTEXT

How Lancaster city compares with similar-size places

This place's mean commute is at the 38th percentile among covered 25k–100k places; each percentile describes one metric only.

Percentiles are single-metric context, never a “good commute” score.

38^thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 62% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

31^thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 69% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

87^thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 87% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

52^th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 52% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind Lancaster city's commute shares

The 2024 estimates cover 28,997 workers age 16+, including 26,010 workers with reported travel time and 2,987 home workers.

Population estimate57,719± 84 MOE

Workers age 16+28,997± 1,084 MOE

Workers with travel time26,010± 1,167 MOE

Estimated home workers2,987± 492 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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable Pennsylvania commute records for Lancaster city

These 8 same-state records are the closest population peers available in the published dataset, not recommendations or a composite ranking.

All Pennsylvania reports →