ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · SD · GEOID 46693002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Watertown, South Dakota

Mean one-way trip12.6 min±1.3 min MOE
Worked from home4.8%±1.4 pp MOE
Drove alone83.8%±3.4 pp MOE
60+ minute trip1.9%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 commute13.8 min → 12.6 min▼ 1.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home4.6% → 4.8%▲ 0.1 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.6%▲ 0.6 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone85.9% → 83.8%▼ 2.2 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone83.8% ±3.4 pp
Carpool9.1% ±2.6 pp
Public transit0.6% ±0.5 pp
Walk1.1% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle0.3% ±0.5 pp
Work from home4.8% ±1.4 pp

Each share uses 12,314 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.

2thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 98% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

12thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 88% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

59thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 59% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

7th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 93% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate23,044± 23 MOE
Workers age 16+12,314± 481 MOE
Workers with travel time11,728± 505 MOE
Estimated home workers586± 177 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.