Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Elsberry has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Elsberry has 370 jobs, against 850 working residents. Jobs and income earn Elsberry D−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Household incomes here are lower than in 88% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Elsberry, in brief
Elsberry’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Elsberry is O'Fallon, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (74) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Elsberry workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Elsberry workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 850 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Elsberry’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Elsberry is better than 4% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Elsberry’s grade.
Unemployment (1.6%) is left out: Elsberry’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, Elsberry could be anywhere from D− to D.
Miles to work from Elsberry
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.
How long Elsberry spends getting to work: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elsberry workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 777 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 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 many people are in Elsberry by day
On a workday 765 residents head out to work, 85 work right here, and 285 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Elsberry on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
9% of working residents work in O'Fallon
Where Elsberry clocks in
9% of workers
6% 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.
The kinds of work in Elsberry
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elsberry, 2013 → 2023: 342 → 370. 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 Elsberry’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Elsberry, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elsberry is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 801 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). 10.4% of Elsberry households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Elsberry’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elsberry next to U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 48 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,847 | Lake Placid FL | 2,599 | $47K | 23.8% | 8.1% | 15% | D− |
| 4,848 | Morgan GA | 1,818 | $46K | 20.6% | 29.6% | 5% | D− |
| 4,849 | Elsberry MO | 2,108 | $50K | 24.8% | 1.6% | 10% | D− |
| 4,850 | Seagraves TX | 2,352 | $46K | 18.8% | 7.1% | 14% | D− |
| 4,851 | Seven Points TX | 1,530 | $40K | 26.6% | 10.0% | 3% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Elsberry, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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 Elsberry: questions
What is the median household income in Elsberry?
$49,760 (±$10,188) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elsberry?
24.8%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elsberry?
34 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elsberry work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are O'Fallon (9%, 27 mi), Wentzville (6%, 25 mi), Troy (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elsberry walkable?
Elsberry is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elsberry without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elsberry, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elsberry
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.