Elba has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The two grades for Elba are B for jobs and income and D for walkability. 330 jobs are based in Elba, against 937 working residents. Only 4% work in Elba itself; outside it, Batavia draws the most (16%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Elba stands out on work
Commutes from Elba are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Elba makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Elba are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Elba residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
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 937 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Elba earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elba is better than 60% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Elba’s grade up ($91,875, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elba could be anywhere from C to A.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elba workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 966 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Elba makes things: 35% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elba, 2013 → 2023: 373 → 330. 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 Elba’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Elba by day
On a workday 898 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 291 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Elba on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Out of Elba to work: where people go
Where Elba clocks in
16% of workers
9% 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.
Elba’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Few in Elba walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elba is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,091 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). 1.7% of Elba households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elba’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Elba is 1,722nd among 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Atlantic Beach NY | 1,723 | $166K | 1.8% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Village of the Branch NY | 1,764 | $174K | 1.5% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 9 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,720 | Clinton Township IN | 1,529 | $106K | 13.4% | 6.4% | 5% | B |
| 1,721 | Delaware Township KS | 1,785 | $66K | 4.5% | 2.0% | 12% | B |
| 1,722 | Elba NY | 2,135 | $92K | 8.2% | 4.3% | 4% | B |
| 1,723 | Monroe Township OH | 2,733 | $90K | 2.6% | 6.9% | 3% | B |
| 1,724 | Excelsior WI | 1,616 | $92K | 8.4% | 2.0% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | 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 Elba, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 18% of Elba
The biggest share goes to Oakfield (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elba workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elba | – | B | D | 23 min | $91,875 |
| Oakfield | 9% | C+ | C | 25 min | $67,067 |
| Byron | under 3% | B+ | C− | 25 min | $99,063 |
| Barre | under 3% | C− | D | 21 min | $73,906 |
| Batavia | 9% | C | B− | 23 min | $67,207 |
| Stafford | under 3% | B | C− | 21 min | $87,554 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elba’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 Elba: questions
What is the median household income in Elba?
$91,875 (±$21,157) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elba?
8.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elba?
23 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elba work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Batavia (16%, 7 mi), Batavia (9%, 7 mi), Oakfield (9%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elba walkable?
Elba is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elba without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elba, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elba
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.