Households in Elma have higher incomes than those in 87% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Elma is better than 83% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (C). Below the poverty line: 3.8% of residents, against 14.0% across New York. About one in ten stay in Elma for work; outside it, Buffalo is the main destination (21%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Elma: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Elma are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Elma makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Elma are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Elma residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. 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.
Where Elma’s Jobs & income grade comes from
The poverty rate holds Elma’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elma could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
About 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elma workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,965 commuters (the 12% 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.
A place that makes things: 40% of Elma’s jobs are in goods
4,457 jobs are based in Elma.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elma, 2013 → 2023: 3,869 → 4,457. 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 Elma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Elma
On a workday 5,050 residents head out to work, 452 work right here, and 4,005 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Elma: the destinations
Where Elma clocks in
21% of workers
10% 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.
Miles to work from Elma
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.
Most of Elma commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,653 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.7% of Elma households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Elma’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Elma ranks: 723rd of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 721 | Bridgetown OH | 13,464 | $81K | 5.6% | 2.6% | 4% | A− |
| 722 | Loveland OH | 13,288 | $94K | 7.8% | 2.9% | 4% | A− |
| 723 | Elma NY | 11,667 | $116K | 3.8% | 5.1% | 8% | A− |
| 724 | Tanque Verde AZ | 15,866 | $122K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 6% | A− |
| 725 | Huntington VA | 13,502 | $100K | 7.3% | 4.2% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Elma, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
20% of Elma works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Aurora (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elma | – | A− | C | 22 min | $116,460 |
| Aurora | 6% | A− | A− | 24 min | $102,065 |
| Marilla | 3% | A | D | 28 min | $92,787 |
| Lancaster | 5% | A | B | 20 min | $89,080 |
| West Seneca | 6% | B+ | B | 23 min | $79,709 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elma’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 Elma: questions
What is the median household income in Elma?
$116,460 (±$12,147) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elma?
3.8%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elma?
22 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 Elma work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (21%, 12 mi), Amherst (10%, 14 mi), Cheektowaga (9%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elma walkable?
Elma is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elma without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elma
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.