ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · VA · GEOID 51210882024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Dale City, Virginia

Mean one-way trip37.4 min±2.8 min MOE
Worked from home14.2%±1.6 pp MOE
Drove alone69.2%±2.7 pp MOE
60+ minute trip18.3%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 commute40.3 min → 37.4 min▼ 2.9 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home9.3% → 14.2%▲ 4.9 pp

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

Public transit3.6% → 2.3%▼ 1.3 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone72.0% → 69.2%▼ 2.7 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone69.2% ±2.7 pp
Carpool11.4% ±1.7 pp
Public transit2.3% ±0.8 pp
Walk0.6% ±0.3 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.0 pp
Work from home14.2% ±1.6 pp

Each share uses 35,776 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.

98thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 98% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

54thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 54% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

74thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 74% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

95th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 95% of covered places in the 25k–100k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate71,016± 2,662 MOE
Workers age 16+35,776± 1,588 MOE
Workers with travel time30,686± 1,530 MOE
Estimated home workers5,090± 610 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.