Photo: G Keith Hall · CC BY-SA 3.0Elkin has 3.0 jobs for every working resident: 4,235 people commute in to work
4,616 jobs are based in Elkin for 1,527 working residents. Jobs and income earn Elkin C−; getting around on foot earns it C+. About one in four stay in Elkin for work; outside it, Winston-Salem is the main destination (9%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Elkin in brief
Elkin has far more jobs than workers
Elkin has 4,616 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 7,200 people are in town, 75% more than the 4,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Elkin’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Elkin is Winston-Salem, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (140) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
The figures behind Elkin’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elkin is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #235 of 290 in North Carolina. Unemployment holds Elkin’s grade up (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (22.3%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elkin could be anywhere from D to C+.
Elkin nearly doubles on a workday
On a workday 1,146 residents head out to work and 381 work right here.
About 7,200 people are in Elkin on a workday afternoon, 75% more 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.
Elkin’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% 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.
Where the people who work in Elkin live
Where Elkin clocks in
4% of workers
4% 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 Elkin
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elkin, 2013 → 2023: 4,207 → 4,616. 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 Elkin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Elkin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elkin workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,577 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 85% 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.
In Elkin, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elkin is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #171 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.9% across North Carolina.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,798 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). 4.2% of Elkin households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elkin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elkin places 3,413th of 4,112 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 188 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 285 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,411 | South Jacksonville IL | 3,195 | $50K | 9.0% | 15.8% | 3% | C− |
| 3,412 | Hiawatha KS | 3,124 | $69K | 14.7% | 6.2% | 35% | C− |
| 3,413 | Elkin NC | 4,130 | $61K | 22.3% | 5.0% | 25% | C− |
| 3,414 | Havana Township IL | 4,170 | $58K | 18.0% | 3.9% | 30% | C− |
| 3,415 | Auberry CA | 3,240 | $79K | 11.8% | 8.6% | 7% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Elkin, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
How Elkin compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Jonesville (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elkin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkin | – | C− | C+ | 26 min | $60,740 |
| Pleasant Hill | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Jonesville | 4% | D | B+ | 23 min | $29,837 |
Same-state neighbors only. Pleasant Hill: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elkin’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 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 Elkin: questions
What is the median household income in Elkin?
$60,740 (±$8,567) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elkin?
22.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elkin?
26 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elkin work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Winston-Salem (9%, 34 mi), Jonesville (4%, 2 mi), Wilkesboro (4%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elkin walkable?
Elkin is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elkin 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 Elkin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elkin
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.