Photo: Nyttend · Public domainElsah has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
3 jobs are based in Elsah for 232 working residents. Hardly any stay in Elsah for work; outside it, Jerseyville is the main destination (9%, 11 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 11 minutes; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Elsah: the figures worth knowing
Elsah is a place people come home to
There are 3 jobs based in Elsah, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Elsah has about 310 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Elsah are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 130 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois 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 232 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily flow of workers through Elsah
On a workday 231 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 2 people come in from elsewhere.
About 310 people are in Elsah on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
How long Elsah spends getting to work: about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elsah workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 186 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Out of Elsah to work: where people go
Where Elsah clocks in
9% of workers
9% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Elsah
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elsah, 2013 → 2023: 293 → 3. 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 Elsah’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Elsah commutes less than 18 miles
About 17% 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 Elsah: questions
What is the median household income in Elsah?
$98,125 (±$93,898) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elsah?
25.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elsah?
11 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elsah work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jerseyville (9%, 11 mi), Alton (9%, 12 mi), Godfrey (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Elsah without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elsah, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elsah
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.