Elk has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Elk has 42 jobs, against 372 working residents. Only 1% work in Elk itself; outside it, Phillips draws the most (33%, 5 miles). The trip to work takes 19 minutes on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Elk stands out on work
A lot of Elk works one town over
39% of working residents work in a town that borders Elk: Phillips (33%) and Worcester (6%). Next door ↓
Elk is a place people come home to
There are 42 jobs based in Elk, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Elk has about 640 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% 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 ↓
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 372 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily flow of workers through Elk
On a workday 367 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 37 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Elk 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.
The commute from Elk, by distance
About 32% 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.
Where people from Elk work
Where Elk clocks in
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.
What Elk’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk, 2013 → 2023: 81 → 42. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Elk, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 357 commuters (the 11% 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.
39% of Elk works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | – | — | — | 19 min | $70,000 |
| Phillips | 33% | D− | A− | 21 min | $47,059 |
| Flambeau | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Worcester | 6% | C | D | 19 min | $68,438 |
| Georgetown | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Harmony | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Winter | under 2% | C− | C− | 32 min | $72,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Flambeau: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Georgetown and Harmony: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Phillips. Darker towns draw more of Elk’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: questions
What is the median household income in Elk?
$70,000 (±$12,208) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk?
7.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Phillips (33%, 5 mi), Park Falls (6%, 18 mi), Worcester (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Elk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk
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.