With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Elba Township works elsewhere
Elba Township has 164 jobs; 355 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Elba Township is better than 6% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). Measured by household income, Elba Township is behind 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Elba Township and work: the main findings
Elba Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Elba Township workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published; with 355 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Elba Township’s grade explained
The poverty rate holds Elba Township’s grade up (17.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (4.7%) is left out: Elba Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Elba Township could be anywhere from D− to D.
The daily trip from Elba Township: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elba Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 467 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% 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.
How a workday changes Elba Township
On a workday 343 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 152 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Elba Township on a workday afternoon, 15% 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 2021, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Ithaca
Where Elba Township clocks in
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.
What Elba Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elba Township, 2011 → 2021: 230 → 164. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elba Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Elba Township
About 29% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Elba Township commutes by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 3.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 487 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.0% of Elba Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elba Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elba Township next to U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700: 4,354th of 4,866 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,352 | Elkhart TX | 1,265 | $53K | 28.0% | 17.0% | 10% | D |
| 4,353 | Limestone ME | 1,487 | $50K | 16.4% | 6.8% | 23% | D |
| 4,354 | Elba Township MI | 1,275 | $52K | 17.0% | 4.7% | 3% | D |
| 4,355 | Archer FL | 1,159 | $41K | 38.1% | 7.0% | 1% | D |
| 4,356 | Sturgis KY | 1,637 | $37K | 16.4% | 4.0% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Elba Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work in the towns next to Elba Township
The biggest share goes to Washington Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elba Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elba Township | – | D | C− | 32 min | $52,344 |
| Washington Township | 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Duplain Township | 2% | C | C+ | 27 min | $63,177 |
| Hamilton Township | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Washington Township and Hamilton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elba Township’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 2021, 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 Elba Township: questions
What is the median household income in Elba Township?
$52,344 (±$9,159) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elba Township?
17.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elba Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elba Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ithaca (9%, 12 mi), Alma (8%, 19 mi), St. Louis (6%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Elba Township walkable?
Elba Township is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elba Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elba Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elba Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, 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.