Photo: A.Davey from Portland, Oregon, EE UU · CC BY 2.0Elk River has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working residents average 15 minutes each way, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. Elk River has 15 jobs for 44 working residents. Only 2% work in Elk River; the top destination outside it is Orofino (27%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Elk River by day and by night
On a workday 43 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 14 people come in from elsewhere.
About 120 people are in Elk River on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Elk River ends
Where Elk River clocks in
27% of workers
18% 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.
Jobs in Elk River: what the 15 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk River, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 15. 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 Elk River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 15 minutes each way, quicker than most of Idaho
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk River workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 44 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Idaho: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Elk River’s commute, mile by mile
About 21% 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.
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 Elk River: questions
What is the median household income in Elk River?
$54,904 (±$22,994) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk River?
22.6%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk River?
15 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk River work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Orofino (27%, 21 mi), Lewiston (18%, 47 mi), Weippe (5%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Elk River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elk River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk River
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.