ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · VA · GEOID 51641522024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Potomac Mills, Virginia

Mean one-way trip29.8 min±9.3 min MOE
Worked from home22.4%±9.2 pp MOE
Drove alone64.1%±5.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip10.7%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 commute32.0 min → 29.8 min▼ 2.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home10.3% → 22.4%▲ 12.1 pp

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

Public transit4.7% → 3.7%▼ 1.0 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone72.0% → 64.1%▼ 7.9 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone64.1% ±5.0 pp
Carpool8.3% ±3.4 pp
Public transit3.7% ±4.2 pp
Walk0.6% ±0.9 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.8 pp
Work from home22.4% ±9.2 pp

Each share uses 2,421 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.

76thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 76% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

85thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 85% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

87thTransit percentile

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

73th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is higher than about 73% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate5,741± 1,279 MOE
Workers age 16+2,421± 599 MOE
Workers with travel time1,879± 426 MOE
Estimated home workers542± 261 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.