ACS 2024 5-YEAR ESTIMATES↗ DIRECTIONAL CHANGE FROM 2021UPDATED JAN 29, 2026
COMMUTESHIFTHow America gets to work
PLACE · WI · GEOID 55839752024 5-YEAR

COMMUTE PROFILE

Watertown, Wisconsin

Mean one-way trip24.6 min±2.6 min MOE
Worked from home6.9%±1.6 pp MOE
Drove alone78.8%±3.0 pp MOE
60+ minute trip6.7%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 commute24.0 min → 24.6 min▲ 0.6 min

Average for workers who did not work from home.

Work from home3.2% → 6.9%▲ 3.8 pp

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

Public transit0.1% → 0.0%▼ 0.1 pp

Public transportation excluding taxi.

Drive alone79.7% → 78.8%▼ 0.8 pp

Car, truck, or van—drove alone.

02 / MODE SHARE

How residents usually get to work

Drive alone78.8% ±3.0 pp
Carpool8.7% ±2.0 pp
Public transit0.0% ±0.2 pp
Walk3.1% ±1.0 pp
Bicycle0.4% ±0.5 pp
Work from home6.9% ±1.6 pp

Each share uses 11,084 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.

48thMean commute percentile

Mean commute time is lower than about 52% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

25thWork-from-home percentile

The work-from-home share is lower than about 75% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

18thTransit percentile

The public-transit share is lower than about 82% of covered places in the under 25k population band.

51th60+ minute percentile

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

04 / ESTIMATE BASE

The counts behind the shares

Population estimate22,774± 30 MOE
Workers age 16+11,084± 517 MOE
Workers with travel time10,315± 510 MOE
Estimated home workers769± 177 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.