Photo: Bala Subs · CC BY-SA 2.0At 1.7%, unemployment in North Elba is lower than in 88% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 15 minutes, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26. The two grades for North Elba are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. About half work in North Elba itself; outside it, Harrietstown draws the most (13%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from North Elba, in brief
Commutes from North Elba are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 138 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
North Elba is where the jobs are
North Elba has 5,284 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in North Elba is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
Jobs & income in North Elba: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Elba is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #420 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds North Elba’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Elba could be anywhere from C to B+.
The daily trip from North Elba: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Elba workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,004 commuters (the 17% 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.
In and out of North Elba on a workday
On a workday 1,613 residents head out to work, 1,649 work right here, and 3,635 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,800 people are in North Elba on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
In North Elba, services account for most jobs
5,284 jobs are based in North Elba.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Elba, 2013 → 2023: 4,680 → 5,284. 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 North Elba’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where North Elba’s workforce comes from
Where North Elba clocks in
13% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
How far North Elba’s workers travel
About 22% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: North Elba
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Elba is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #218 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 7.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,605 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). 11.4% of North Elba households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of North Elba’s commuters take a bus or train.
North Elba places 1,786th of 3,091 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 16 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,784 | Carolina Beach NC | 6,870 | $94K | 6.0% | 7.8% | 21% | B− |
| 1,785 | Upper Sandusky OH | 6,661 | $67K | 11.7% | 2.4% | 35% | B− |
| 1,786 | North Elba NY | 7,768 | $73K | 9.5% | 1.7% | 51% | B− |
| 1,787 | Waseca MN | 9,035 | $64K | 9.5% | 2.8% | 34% | B− |
| 1,788 | Iowa Park TX | 6,542 | $67K | 9.7% | 3.2% | 9% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,091 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 North Elba, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Next door is work for 15% of North Elba
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Elba workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Elba | – | B− | A | 15 min | $72,843 |
| St. Armand | 1% | C+ | C | 21 min | $81,221 |
| Harrietstown | 13% | C | A− | 15 min | $66,460 |
| Keene | under 1% | B | B+ | 33 min | $93,542 |
| Saranac Lake | under 1% | C− | A | 16 min | $61,967 |
| Wilmington | 1% | B− | B− | 34 min | $82,344 |
| Newcomb | under 1% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Newcomb: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Harrietstown. Darker towns draw more of North 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 North Elba: questions
What is the median household income in North Elba?
$72,843 (±$10,014) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Elba?
9.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Elba?
15 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Elba work?
51% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harrietstown (13%, 8 mi), Albany (2%, 107 mi), Malone (2%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Elba walkable?
North Elba is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Elba without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Elba, from the people who make the trip.
More of North 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.