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Elbe Evangelical Lutheran ChurchElbe Evangelical Lutheran Church · Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Elbe

Work and commuting in Elbe

16 jobs are based in Elbe, and 12 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Elbe for work; outside it, Creston is the main destination (8%, 186 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Elbe by day and by night

On a workday 12 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 16 people come in from elsewhere.

12live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
16work here, live elsewhere
Job hub or commuter town?
1.33jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 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.

The commute map

The places Elbe commutes to

Creston: 1 residents work here (8%)EatonvilleYelmLakewood: 1 residents work here (8%)Tumwater: 1 residents work here (8%)Olympia: 1 residents work here (8%)Auburn: 1 residents work here (8%)Seattle: 1 residents work here (8%)Tacoma: 1 residents work here (8%)ElbeAshford: 1 residents work here (8%)Summit ViewLa GrandeSpanaway: 1 residents work here (8%)Elk Plain: 1 residents work here (8%)South HillCrestonLakewoodTumwaterOlympiaAuburnSeattleElbe
1
Creston185.5 mi away
8%1
2
Lakewood31.7 mi away
8%1
3
Tumwater37.4 mi away
8%1
4
Olympia38.1 mi away
8%1
5
Auburn37.2 mi away
8%1
6
Seattle59.4 mi away
8%1
7
Tacoma35.8 mi away
8%1
8
Ashford8.6 mi away
8%1
9
Spanaway25.3 mi away
8%1
10
Elk Plain20.7 mi away
8%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
17%2
The top trips

Where Elbe clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

The kinds of work in Elbe

Jobs based in ElbeJobs Elbe residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%17%
Trade, transport & utilities56%17%
Services: health, schools, offices44%67%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less44%8%
$1,251–$3,333 a month56%17%
Over $3,333 a month0%75%

Who does it

29 or younger25%0%
30 to 5463%75%
55 and older13%25%
+14%

Jobs based in Elbe, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 16. 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 Elbe’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

The commute from Elbe, by distance

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miCreston: 8% · 185.5 miLakewood: 8% · 31.7 miTumwater: 8% · 37.4 miOlympia: 8% · 38.1 miAuburn: 8% · 37.2 miSeattle: 8% · 59.4 miTacoma: 8% · 35.8 miAshford: 8% · 8.6 miSpanaway: 8% · 25.3 miElk Plain: 8% · 20.7 miCreston 8%Lakewood 8%Tumwater 8%Olympia 8%Auburn 8%Elbe
ElbeTop destinations (size = commuters)
8%Under 10 mi1 residents
25%10–24 mi3 residents
50%25–50 mi6 residents
17%Over 50 mi2 residents

About 17% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Elbe: questions

Where do people who live in Elbe work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Creston (8%, 186 mi), Lakewood (8%, 32 mi), Tumwater (8%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Elbe, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Elbe

Elbe home →

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.