Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Elk Township earn less than those in 73% of U.S. towns
21.2% of residents live below the poverty line, where Ohio as a whole has 13.3%. The two grades for Elk Township are C− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in five work in Elk Township; the top destination outside it is McArthur (11%, 1 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Elk Township apart on work
Elk Township trades workers with the towns around it
Elk Township has about as many jobs (1,179) as working residents (1,298), but they are mostly different people: 1,062 residents leave for work each day while 943 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Elk Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Elk Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Elk Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elk Township is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #883 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment holds Elk Township’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elk Township could be anywhere from D to B−.
Elk Township by day and by night
On a workday 1,062 residents head out to work, 236 work right here, and 943 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 (0.91 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.
About 34 minutes each way for Elk Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk Township workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,351 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Ohio: 86% 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.
Where the trip to work from Elk Township ends
Where Elk Township clocks in
11% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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 1,179 jobs based in Elk Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,014 → 1,179. 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 Elk Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Elk Township’s workers travel
About 26% 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.
Getting around Elk Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elk Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #309 of 993 in Ohio. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.7% across Ohio, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,500 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). 6.9% of Elk Township households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elk Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Elk Township is 3,412th among 4,316 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,410 | Forks WA | 3,488 | $60K | 19.5% | 2.8% | 48% | C− |
| 3,411 | Laurens NY | 2,301 | $72K | 10.2% | 9.8% | 7% | C− |
| 3,412 | Elk Township OH | 3,217 | $61K | 21.2% | 3.5% | 18% | C− |
| 3,413 | Violet LA | 4,122 | $51K | 17.6% | 9.4% | 1% | C− |
| 3,414 | Port Richey FL | 3,655 | $51K | 20.7% | 5.6% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,316 | 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 Elk Township, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door to Elk Township
The biggest share goes to Madison Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elk Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | – | C− | B | 34 min | $60,781 |
| Madison Township | 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Clinton Township | 3% | D− | D− | 30 min | $46,776 |
| Richland Township | under 3% | D | D | 34 min | $53,711 |
| Swan Township | under 3% | — | — | 48 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Madison Township and Swan Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elk Township’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 Elk Township: questions
What is the median household income in Elk Township?
$60,781 (±$11,955) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk Township?
21.2%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk Township?
34 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk Township work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McArthur (11%, 1 mi), Columbus (6%, 57 mi), Green Township (6%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elk Township walkable?
Elk Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elk Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elk Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk Township
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.