Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Elcho has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Household incomes here are lower than in 88% of U.S. towns. Employers in Elcho report 193 jobs; 528 of its residents have a job. Elcho grades D− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Elcho: the gist
A big share show a job far from home
41% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
The quickest commute around
Elcho’s 26-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 30 to 41 minutes. Next door ↓
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 528 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Elcho’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Elcho is better than 3% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Elcho’s grade.
Unemployment (2.1%) is left out: Elcho’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, Elcho could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Elcho’s commute, mile by mile
About 41% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Elcho
On a workday 480 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 145 people come in from elsewhere.
About 860 people are in Elcho on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
13% of working residents work in Antigo
Where Elcho clocks in
13% of workers
6% of workers
3% 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 kinds of work in Elcho
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elcho, 2013 → 2023: 125 → 193. 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 Elcho’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elcho workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 378 commuters (the 8% 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.
Driving is how Elcho gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elcho is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Elcho 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 412 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). 8.5% of Elcho households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elcho’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Elcho sits among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Big Bend WI | 1,498 | $135K | 3.2% | 0.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,064 | Brunswick Township MO | 1,256 | $46K | 18.9% | 7.1% | 14% | D− |
| 4,065 | Richland Township MO | 1,124 | $43K | 28.7% | 1.3% | 3% | D− |
| 4,066 | Elcho WI | 1,193 | $50K | 19.3% | 2.1% | 9% | D− |
| 4,067 | Phil Campbell AL | 1,004 | $43K | 22.9% | 1.8% | 3% | D− |
| 4,068 | Cuba IL | 1,131 | $42K | 22.7% | 4.6% | 9% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | 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 Elcho, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Elcho and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Upham (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elcho workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elcho | – | D− | D | 26 min | $50,192 |
| Upham | 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Ainsworth | under 2% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Parrish | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Enterprise | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Schoepke | under 2% | — | — | 41 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Upham, Ainsworth, Parrish, Enterprise and Schoepke: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elcho’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 Elcho: questions
What is the median household income in Elcho?
$50,192 (±$6,709) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elcho?
19.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elcho?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elcho work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Antigo (13%, 19 mi), Rhinelander (6%, 20 mi), Wausau (3%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elcho walkable?
Elcho is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elcho without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elcho, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elcho
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.