Photo: Jcantroot · Public domainElkton has higher unemployment (6.9%) than 82% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Elkton C; getting around on foot earns it A−. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore. 9% of workers work from home (Maryland 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Elkton, in brief
No single place dominates Elkton’s commute
The biggest draw, Baltimore, gets only 4% of working residents, and 67% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Elkton residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Elkton draws workers from far and wide
The 9,180 jobs in Elkton are filled from a wide area. Elkton’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 11%; the other 77% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Elkton are quick
The average trip to work takes 25 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Elkton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elkton is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #252 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Elkton’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elkton could be anywhere from D to B−.
Where Elkton goes to work
Where Elkton clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Elkton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elkton workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,858 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Elkton fills up on a workday
On a workday 5,753 residents head out to work, 1,091 work right here, and 8,089 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Elkton on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Elkton: 9,180 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elkton, 2013 → 2023: 6,970 → 9,180. 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 Elkton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Elkton’s workers travel
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.
Elkton is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elkton is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #142 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,452 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 60% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 11.1% of Elkton households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Elkton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000, Elkton ranks 1,662nd of 1,999 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Colesville MD | 14,519 | $131K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Honeygo MD | 12,250 | $146K | 1.8% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,660 | Gladeview FL | 16,655 | $47K | 27.5% | 6.3% | 2% | C |
| 1,661 | Hayesville OR | 21,246 | $59K | 23.7% | 5.5% | 3% | C |
| 1,662 | Elkton MD | 16,670 | $59K | 20.1% | 6.9% | 16% | C |
| 1,663 | Graham NC | 20,131 | $56K | 16.8% | 6.8% | 8% | C |
| 1,664 | Ashland OR | 20,889 | $68K | 15.2% | 6.2% | 40% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Elkton, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
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 Elkton: questions
What is the median household income in Elkton?
$58,640 (±$18,269) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elkton?
20.1%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elkton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elkton work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (4%, 47 mi), Wilmington (3%, 18 mi), Newark (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elkton walkable?
Elkton is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elkton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elkton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elkton
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.