ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · RI · GEOID 44590002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Providence, Rhode Island

Mean one-way trip25.0 min±1.4 min MOE
Worked from home14.3%±1.2 pp MOE
Drove alone60.5%±1.9 pp MOE
60+ minute trip9.5%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 commute24.2 min → 25.0 min▲ 0.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.4% → 14.3%▲ 3.8 pp

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

Public transit4.4% → 4.1%▼ 0.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone64.0% → 60.5%▼ 3.5 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone60.5% ±1.9 pp
Carpool10.0% ±1.5 pp
Public transit4.1% ±0.7 pp
Walk7.3% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle1.0% ±0.3 pp
Work from home14.3% ±1.2 pp

Each share uses 89,783 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.

55thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 55% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

58thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 58% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

84thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 84% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

74th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 74% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate191,767± 114 MOE
Workers age 16+89,783± 2,439 MOE
Workers with travel time76,975± 2,600 MOE
Estimated home workers12,808± 1,141 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 nearby records

All Rhode Island reports →