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      Commute Travel Time Data

      A summary of the Census Commute Travel Time Data specification.

      1.0 Introduction

      Commute Travel Time datasets are reported once per year by the United States Census. The data reflect the time it takes for individuals to travel to work as defined by the US Census. The data sets range from 2015 - to 2020 and have been aggregated to census tracts.

      The Census defines commuting or journey to work as a person's travel from home to work and how long it typically takes for residents within each census tract.

      Census Commute Travel Time Parameters: Census.gov

      2.0 Data Specification

      The following table is the format in which downloaded Commute Travel Time data will be provided:

      Field

      Type

      Description

      geo_id

      String

      14-digit code relating the data to the correct geolocation.

      census_tract_code

      String

      The unique identifier provided by the US Census for each census tract.

      sub_category

      String

      Mean travel time to work (minutes).

      unit

      String

      Total Count.

      value

      Float

      Total amount of time in minutes to travel to work.

      year

      String

      Year data was collected.

      county_name

      String

      Name of the county that the census tract resides in.

      state_name

      String

      Name of the state that the census tract resides in.

      geometry

      String

      The GIS information required for the computer to read the mapping file.

      💡Tip: The “GEO.ID” field contains 14-digit codes that identify the summary level of data, the geographic component of the data, and FIPS codes that uniquely identify the data. For example, the 14-digit “GEO.ID” for Harris County, TX is “0500000US48201” where “050” represents the summary level of the data, “0000” represents the 2-digit geographic variant, and the 2-digit geographic component, “US” represents the United States, “48” represents the state of Texas and “201” represents Harris County.