ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · WA · GEOID 53249152024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Fort Lewis, Washington

Mean one-way trip11.4 min±1.5 min MOE
Worked from home3.4%±1.6 pp MOE
Drove alone61.1%±5.6 pp MOE
60+ minute trip1.2%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 commute12.1 min → 11.4 min▼ 0.7 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home2.5% → 3.4%▲ 0.9 pp

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

Public transit0.9% → 0.1%▼ 0.8 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone64.5% → 61.1%▼ 3.4 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone61.1% ±5.6 pp
Carpool15.2% ±2.9 pp
Public transit0.1% ±0.2 pp
Walk19.7% ±3.3 pp
Bicycle0.0% ±0.2 pp
Work from home3.4% ±1.6 pp

Each share uses 8,837 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.

1thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 99% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

6thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 94% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

42thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 58% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

4th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 96% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate15,167± 1,264 MOE
Workers age 16+8,837± 473 MOE
Workers with travel time8,539± 499 MOE
Estimated home workers298± 138 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.