W. H. Langley House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC0Household incomes in Elm City trail those of 98% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Elm City; the top destination outside it is Wilson (33%, 6 miles). 33.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.0% across North Carolina. The two grades for Elm City are D for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Elm City, in a few figures
Elm City and Wilson trade workers both ways
Wilson is the top workplace for Elm City residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Elm City come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Elm City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Elm City fell from 369 in 2014 to 153 in 2024, −59%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 480 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Elm City: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Elm City is better than 7% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Elm City’s grade up (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (8.8%) is left out: Elm City’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, Elm City could be anywhere from D to C−.
Where Elm City’s working residents head each day
Where Elm City clocks in
33% of workers
10% of workers
5% 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 Elm City’s employers do
153 jobs are based in Elm City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elm City, 2014 → 2024: 369 → 153. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elm City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Elm City: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 472 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 145 people come in from elsewhere.
About 920 people are in Elm City on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.32 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting from Elm City: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elm City workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 427 commuters (the 11% 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.
Elm City’s commute, mile by mile
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Elm City is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elm City is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. 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 481 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). 7.8% of Elm City households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elm City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elm City next to U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700: 4,264th 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 285 | Montreat NC | 1,024 | $116K | 0.0% | 9.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 324 | Advance NC | 1,408 | $115K | 5.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,262 | Mancelona MI | 1,399 | $52K | 16.8% | 7.3% | 8% | D |
| 4,263 | Terrytown NE | 1,040 | $44K | 31.4% | 2.9% | 1% | D |
| 4,264 | Elm City NC | 1,250 | $36K | 33.7% | 8.8% | 2% | D |
| 4,265 | Grapeland TX | 1,475 | $40K | 13.1% | 10.7% | 16% | D |
| 4,266 | Coeburn VA | 1,535 | $55K | 19.1% | 14.6% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Elm City, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Elm City: questions
What is the median household income in Elm City?
$36,150 (±$18,328) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elm City?
33.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elm City?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elm City work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilson (33%, 6 mi), Rocky Mount (10%, 12 mi), Raleigh (5%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Elm City walkable?
Elm City is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elm City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elm City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elm City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.