ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · PA · GEOID 42738082024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

State College, Pennsylvania

Mean one-way trip15.5 min±2.1 min MOE
Worked from home15.3%±3.1 pp MOE
Drove alone38.3%±4.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.7%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 commute16.3 min → 15.5 min▼ 0.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home9.6% → 15.3%▲ 5.6 pp

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

Public transit11.8% → 6.4%▼ 5.5 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone43.8% → 38.3%▼ 5.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone38.3% ±4.6 pp
Carpool4.6% ±1.8 pp
Public transit6.4% ±2.2 pp
Walk30.9% ±3.3 pp
Bicycle3.4% ±1.8 pp
Work from home15.3% ±3.1 pp

Each share uses 15,841 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.

3thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 97% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

58thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 58% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

92thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 92% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

9th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 91% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate41,050± 26 MOE
Workers age 16+15,841± 874 MOE
Workers with travel time13,422± 842 MOE
Estimated home workers2,419± 503 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.