ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · WI · GEOID 55480002024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Madison, Wisconsin

Mean one-way trip19.4 min±0.7 min MOE
Worked from home20.5%±1.0 pp MOE
Drove alone56.7%±1.2 pp MOE
60+ minute trip2.2%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 commute19.6 min → 19.4 min▼ 0.2 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home12.1% → 20.5%▲ 8.5 pp

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

Public transit7.1% → 5.3%▼ 1.8 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone60.5% → 56.7%▼ 3.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone56.7% ±1.2 pp
Carpool5.8% ±0.6 pp
Public transit5.3% ±0.5 pp
Walk7.6% ±0.5 pp
Bicycle2.9% ±0.4 pp
Work from home20.5% ±1.0 pp

Each share uses 159,698 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.

14thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 86% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

78thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is higher than about 78% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

88thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is higher than about 88% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

2th60+ minute percentile

The 60+ minute share is lower than about 98% of covered places in the 100k–500k population band.

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate278,001± 92 MOE
Workers age 16+159,698± 1,991 MOE
Workers with travel time126,901± 2,316 MOE
Estimated home workers32,797± 1,606 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.

05 / SAME STATE

Comparable nearby records

All Wisconsin reports →