Photo: Calbear22 at English Wikipedia · Public domainHouseholds in Elkhorn have higher incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
Hardly any work in Elkhorn itself; outside it, Salinas draws the most (17%, 10 miles). 2.0% of residents live below the poverty line, where California as a whole has 12.0%. For jobs and income Elkhorn is better than 94% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns (D−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Elkhorn and work: the main findings
Elkhorn and Salinas trade workers both ways
Salinas is the top workplace for Elkhorn residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Elkhorn come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Elkhorn is a place people come home to
There are 195 jobs based in Elkhorn, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Elkhorn has about 1,200 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Elkhorn workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 644 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Elkhorn’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (10.0%) is left out: Elkhorn’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Elkhorn could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Where people from Elkhorn work
Where Elkhorn clocks in
17% of workers
8% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
A workday in Elkhorn: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 641 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 192 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Elkhorn on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.30 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How long Elkhorn spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elkhorn workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 513 commuters (the 16% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Elkhorn makes things: 30% of its jobs are in goods
195 jobs are based in Elkhorn.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elkhorn, 2013 → 2023: 139 → 195. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elkhorn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Elkhorn
About 19% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from Elkhorn start in a car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 611 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.0% of Elkhorn households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elkhorn’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Elkhorn ranks: 192nd of 5,381 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Baywood Park CA | 1,580 | $217K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Irwindale CA | 1,439 | $114K | 4.3% | 6.5% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| 191 | Medina WI | 1,300 | $100K | 1.0% | 0.7% | 2% | A |
| 192 | Elkhorn CA | 1,664 | $127K | 2.0% | 10.0% | <1% | A |
| 193 | Willowbrook IL | 1,913 | $90K | 2.8% | 1.8% | <1% | A |
| 194 | Saukville WI | 1,809 | $106K | 3.6% | 3.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Elkhorn, the top three, the last and three more from California.
How Elkhorn compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Prunedale (5%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Elkhorn’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Elkhorn: questions
What is the median household income in Elkhorn?
$126,964 (±$57,797) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elkhorn?
2.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elkhorn?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elkhorn work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salinas (17%, 10 mi), Monterey (8%, 17 mi), San Jose (6%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elkhorn walkable?
Elkhorn is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elkhorn without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elkhorn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elkhorn
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.