Elk Plain has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income A−: better than 75% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #91 of 285 in Washington.
Walkability D: more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns · #270 of 285 in Washington.
Household incomes here are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 37 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Elk Plain; the top destination outside it is Tacoma (15%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Elk Plain
Elk Plain workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Elk Plain is a place people come home to
There are 1,018 jobs based in Elk Plain, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Elk Plain has about 9,000 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
What’s behind Elk Plain’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elk Plain is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #91 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($107,313, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elk Plain could be anywhere from B to A.
About 37 minutes each way, longer than most of Washington
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk Plain workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,126 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Elk Plain quiets down on a workday
On a workday 6,189 residents head out to work, 61 work right here, and 957 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,000 people are in Elk Plain on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.16 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
15% of working residents work in Tacoma
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Elk Plain clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 1,018 jobs in Elk Plain are
1,018 jobs are based in Elk Plain. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elk Plain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk Plain, 2013 → 2023: 788 → 1,018. 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.
Half of Elk Plain commutes less than 16 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Elk Plain start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elk Plain is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns, #270 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Elk Plain near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,873 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 0.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.2% of Elk Plain households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elk Plain’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elk Plain is 844th of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Elk Plain, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 842 | Whitman MA | 15,526 | $109K | 7.9% | 5.2% | 6% | A− |
| 843 | Oxon Hill MD | 17,893 | $93K | 6.2% | 5.9% | 2% | A− |
| 844 | Elk Plain WA | 14,276 | $107K | 8.3% | 3.0% | 1% | A− |
| 845 | Griffith IN | 16,137 | $77K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| 846 | Stonington CT | 18,832 | $115K | 7.0% | 3.5% | 20% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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.
Elk Plain and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Spanaway (5%). Darker towns draw more of Elk Plain’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elk Plain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Plain | – | A− | D | 37 min | $107,313 |
| Graham | under 3% | B+ | C | 43 min | $116,862 |
| South Creek | under 3% | B− | D | 44 min | $84,759 |
| Spanaway | 5% | B+ | B+ | 37 min | $98,251 |
| Frederickson | 3% | B+ | B | 36 min | $109,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Plain: questions
What is the median household income in Elk Plain?
$107,313 (±$8,430) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk Plain?
8.3%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk Plain?
37 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk Plain work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (15%, 15 mi), Seattle (9%, 40 mi), Puyallup (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elk Plain walkable?
Elk Plain is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elk Plain without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elk Plain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk Plain
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.