Commuting data includes where people work (including work from home), when their trip starts, how they get there, and how long it takes. Commuting data helps policy makers and planners make decisions related to transportation infrastructure.

Commuting (Journey to Work) refers to a worker’s travel from home to work. Several Census surveys including the American Community Survey (ACS), Decennial Census (2000 and prior), American Housing Survey (AHS), and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) include questions about the working population’s commutes. Some of these questions include: travel time, means of transportation, time of departure for work, vehicles available, and expenses associated with the commute. The ACS also asks workers about their place of work, the geographic location of their job.

The ability to link information about commuting to socio-demographic characteristics and geography allows planners to forecast local travel demand, gauge the amount of pressure placed on transportation infrastructure, and address unmet transportation needs more accurately. Federal, state, and local planners and policymakers use the ACS and other Census Bureau surveys to guide decisions about how to allocate limited public resources devoted to transportation.

Commuter-adjusted population estimates, often-referred to as daytime population refers to the number of people who are present in an area during normal business hours, including workers. This contrasts with the “resident” population present during the evening and nighttime hours. Commuter- adjusted population estimates are calculated using resident and workplace population estimates. Information on the expansion and contraction experienced by different communities between nighttime and daytime populations is important for many planning purposes, including those dealing with transportation, land use, disaster, and relief planning and operations.

For more information on the surveys, go to the Census Survey Explorer. Go to our Data Tools and Apps to see a list of the tools available or go to data.census.gov to access the commuting data.