Commuter-adjusted population refers to the number of people who are assumed to be present in an area during normal business hours, including workers. This is in contrast to the resident population, or people who reside in a given area and are assumed to be present during the evening and nighttime hours. The American Community Survey (ACS) asks respondents about their place of work location, and is a useful tool for estimating an area’s commuter-adjusted population.

Information about residence location and workplace location is combined to estimate commuter-adjusted population.

There are several methods to calculate the commuter-adjusted population, all of which should yield identical estimates. The simplest method for calculating commuter-adjusted population is by adding the total resident population of an area to the total number of workers working in the area, and then subtracting the total number of workers living in the area:

Commuter-adjusted population = Total resident population + Total workers working in area - Total workers living in area.

Public tables can be used to calculate commuter-adjusted population for many geographic areas. 

The estimates used for calculating commuter-adjusted population are available from data.census.gov. The following tables include the components required to do the calculations:

• Total resident population:
  • B01003 Total Population
• Total workers working in area:
  • B08604 Total Workers for Workplace Geography
    
• Total workers living in area:
  • B08301  Means of Transportation to Work (“Total:” line)

Tables are subjected to reliability and disclosure avoidance standards and may not be published for some areas.

The tables for workplace geography are only available for the following geographic summary levels: States; Counties; Places; County Subdivisions in selected states (CT, ME, MA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, WI); Combined Statistical Areas; Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and their associated Metropolitan Divisions and Principal Cities; Combined New England City and Town Areas; New England City and Town Areas, and their associated Divisions and Principal Cities.

Starting with the 2006-2010 5-year ACS, table B08604 is also available for County within Place and, for selected states, Place/Remainder. 

Commuter-adjusted population can be calculated for certain segments of the population. As long as the total population, workers working in the area, and workers living in the area for the group is known, the above method can be used to calculate the commuter-adjusted population.