Driving alone to work by state (2024)

Driving alone to work by state

Mississippi has the highest estimate (81.2%); New York has the lowest (48.7%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

Data year: 2024Source released Sept. 11, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026GCT0802

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is 71.7%: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

One other state is statistically tied with Mississippi at 90% confidence: Alabama. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

How does this compare with average commute time?

These states’ ranks change the most between driving alone to work and average commute time. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

State	Driving alone to work	Average commute time
New York	48.7% · #50	33.2 min · #1
New Jersey	63.3% · #48	31.9 min · #3
Massachusetts	62.0% · #49	30.6 min · #4

Driving alone to work · 2024 · Percent
Rank	State / jurisdiction	Value	90% margin of error	Difference from previous rank
1	Mississippi	81.2%	± 0.8%	Highest estimate
2	Alabama	80.8%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
3	Arkansas	78.4%	± 0.6%	Different at 90%
4	Louisiana	78.3%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
5	South Dakota	78.1%	± 1.0%	Not distinguishable at 90%
6	West Virginia	77.6%	± 1.0%	Not distinguishable at 90%
7	Indiana	76.8%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
7	Oklahoma	76.8%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
9	North Dakota	76.7%	± 1.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
10	Iowa	76.6%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
11	Kentucky	76.4%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
12	Kansas	76.0%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
13	Nebraska	75.8%	± 0.8%	Not distinguishable at 90%
14	Michigan	75.6%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
15	Ohio	75.2%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
16	Wisconsin	75.1%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
17	Tennessee	75.0%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
18	South Carolina	74.9%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
19	Missouri	74.8%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
20	New Mexico	73.8%	± 0.9%	Not distinguishable at 90%
21	Idaho	72.9%	± 0.8%	Not distinguishable at 90%
22	Wyoming	72.6%	± 1.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
23	New Hampshire	72.3%	± 0.9%	Not distinguishable at 90%
24	Delaware	72.2%	± 1.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
25	Texas	71.8%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
26	Montana	71.6%	± 1.1%	Not distinguishable at 90%
26	North Carolina	71.6%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
28	Georgia	71.4%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
29	Rhode Island	71.3%	± 1.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
30	Maine	70.8%	± 0.8%	Not distinguishable at 90%
31	Minnesota	70.7%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
32	Connecticut	70.2%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
33	Nevada	70.0%	± 0.9%	Not distinguishable at 90%
34	Florida	69.0%	± 0.4%	Different at 90%
35	Virginia	68.6%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
36	Pennsylvania	68.5%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
37	Vermont	67.9%	± 1.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
38	Utah	67.7%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
39	Arizona	67.5%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
40	California	67.3%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
41	Alaska	66.8%	± 1.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
42	Maryland	66.4%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
43	Illinois	66.0%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
44	Colorado	65.4%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
45	Oregon	65.2%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
46	Hawaii	65.1%	± 1.0%	Not distinguishable at 90%
46	Washington	65.1%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
48	New Jersey	63.3%	± 0.5%	Different at 90%
49	Massachusetts	62.0%	± 0.5%	Different at 90%
50	New York	48.7%	± 0.3%	Different at 90%
Ref.	District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states	29.3%	± 1.6%	Reference jurisdiction
Ref.	Puerto RicoNot ranked among states	82.9%	± 0.8%	Reference jurisdiction

Driving alone to work · 2024 · Percent

Rank

State / jurisdiction

Value

90% margin of error

Difference from previous rank

Mississippi

81.2%

± 0.8%

Highest estimate

Alabama

80.8%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Arkansas

78.4%

± 0.6%

Different at 90%

Louisiana

78.3%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

South Dakota

78.1%

± 1.0%

Not distinguishable at 90%

West Virginia

77.6%

± 1.0%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Indiana

76.8%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Oklahoma

76.8%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

North Dakota

76.7%

± 1.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Iowa

76.6%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Kentucky

76.4%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Kansas

76.0%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Nebraska

75.8%

± 0.8%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Michigan

75.6%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Ohio

75.2%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Wisconsin

75.1%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Tennessee

75.0%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

South Carolina

74.9%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Missouri

74.8%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

New Mexico

73.8%

± 0.9%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Idaho

72.9%

± 0.8%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Wyoming

72.6%

± 1.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

New Hampshire

72.3%

± 0.9%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Delaware

72.2%

± 1.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Texas

71.8%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Montana

71.6%

± 1.1%

Not distinguishable at 90%

North Carolina

71.6%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Georgia

71.4%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Rhode Island

71.3%

± 1.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Maine

70.8%

± 0.8%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Minnesota

70.7%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Connecticut

70.2%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Nevada

70.0%

± 0.9%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Florida

69.0%

± 0.4%

Different at 90%

Virginia

68.6%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Pennsylvania

68.5%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Vermont

67.9%

± 1.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Utah

67.7%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Arizona

67.5%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

California

67.3%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Alaska

66.8%

± 1.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Maryland

66.4%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Illinois

66.0%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Colorado

65.4%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Oregon

65.2%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Hawaii

65.1%

± 1.0%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Washington

65.1%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

New Jersey

63.3%

± 0.5%

Different at 90%

Massachusetts

62.0%

± 0.5%

Different at 90%

New York

48.7%

± 0.3%

Different at 90%

Ref.

District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states

29.3%

± 1.6%

Reference jurisdiction

Ref.

Puerto RicoNot ranked among states

82.9%

± 0.8%

Reference jurisdiction

What this ranking measures

Workers age 16 and older who usually commute by car, truck, or van alone.

The denominator includes all workers, including people who work at home. It does not count all trips.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 32.5 percentage points. The U.S. benchmark is 69.2%. It is not a simple average of the states.

33 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 17 below it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error published by the Census Bureau. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Read the ranking methodology.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer: U.S. Census Bureau
Product / file: ACS 1-year · GCT0802
Period: 2024
Unit: Percent
Calculation: Published estimate; no transformation of the value. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage: The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence: Annual. 2025 ACS 1-year estimates scheduled for October 29, 2026 (Census ACS updates page); adoption follows editorial review.
Independence: Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

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Suggested citation

Rank the States. Driving alone to work, 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, GCT0802; released 2025-09-11. Edition 2026-10-23. https://rankthestates.com/data/editions/2026-10-23/drive-alone-commuting.csv

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Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Driving alone to work by state

State distribution and comparisons

How does this compare with average commute time?

The state-by-state view

What this ranking measures

The size of the gap

How much should you read into a rank?

Keep exploring

Source and method

Download, cite, or embed

Updates and corrections

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