ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · WA · GEOID 53061902024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Birch Bay, Washington

Mean one-way trip26.4 min±5.2 min MOE
Worked from home15.3%±4.9 pp MOE
Drove alone77.7%±6.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip6.4%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 commute25.6 min → 26.4 min▲ 0.8 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home3.7% → 15.3%▲ 11.6 pp

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

Public transit0.0% → 0.2%▲ 0.2 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone89.0% → 77.7%▼ 11.3 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone77.7% ±6.0 pp
Carpool6.2% ±2.7 pp
Public transit0.2% ±0.3 pp
Walk0.6% ±0.7 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.5 pp
Work from home15.3% ±4.9 pp

Each share uses 4,560 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.

59thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is higher than about 59% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

66thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 66% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

43thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 57% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

49th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 51% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate10,837± 1,030 MOE
Workers age 16+4,560± 538 MOE
Workers with travel time3,863± 502 MOE
Estimated home workers697± 239 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.