Farmers and Merchants Union Bank · Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Elba commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Elba has 129 jobs, against 474 working residents. The two grades for Elba are A for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Elba
Elba’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Elba is Madison, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (75) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Elba is a place people come home to
There are 129 jobs based in Elba, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Elba has about 680 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Elba workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 69 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; with 474 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Elba gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Elba is better than 87% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.5%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (1.7%) is left out: Elba’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Elba could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Where in the region Elba works
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.
Elba quiets down on a workday
On a workday 468 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 123 people come in from elsewhere.
About 680 people are in Elba on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
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 31 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elba workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 471 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 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.
16% of working residents work in Madison
Where Elba clocks in
16% of workers
8% 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.
74% of the jobs in Elba pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elba, 2013 → 2023: 151 → 129. 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 Elba’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Elba is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elba is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Elba 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 572 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). 0.0% of Elba households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elba’s commuters take a bus or train.
157th of 3,133: where Elba ranks among U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Kaukauna WI | 1,295 | $122K | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Aetna Estates CO | 1,010 | $75K | 1.1% | 0.5% | <1% | A |
| 156 | Pleak TX | 1,202 | $72K | 4.7% | 1.5% | <1% | A |
| 157 | Elba WI | 1,027 | $111K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 1% | A |
| 158 | Montreat NC | 1,024 | $116K | 0.0% | 9.6% | 1% | A |
| 159 | Herman WI | 1,145 | $115K | 6.3% | 0.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Elba, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Around Elba: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Columbus (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elba workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elba | – | A | D− | 31 min | $110,500 |
| Columbus | 4% | B | B | 24 min | $75,427 |
| Portland | under 2% | B− | D | 28 min | $81,429 |
| Lowell | under 2% | B+ | C | 30 min | $95,592 |
| Columbus | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Fountain Prairie | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Calamus | under 2% | A− | D | 22 min | $107,841 |
Same-state neighbors only. Columbus: the same community as the city of that name, graded once. Fountain Prairie: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of 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 Elba: questions
What is the median household income in Elba?
$110,500 (±$29,083) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elba?
3.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elba?
31 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elba work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (16%, 29 mi), Beaver Dam (8%, 12 mi), Reeseville (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elba walkable?
Elba is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elba without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elba, from the people who make the trip.
More of 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.