Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0Elkhorn has lower unemployment (1.3%) than 92% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 21 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Elkhorn A−; getting around on foot earns it B−. About one in seven work in Elkhorn; the top destination outside it is Delavan (7%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Elkhorn and work: the main findings
Elkhorn trades workers with the towns around it
Elkhorn has about as many jobs (6,214) as working residents (5,176), but they are mostly different people: 4,349 residents leave for work each day while 5,387 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Elkhorn are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The quickest commute around
Elkhorn’s 21-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 25 to 28 minutes. Next door ↓
No single place dominates Elkhorn’s commute
The biggest draw, Delavan, gets only 7% of working residents, and 50% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Elkhorn residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Elkhorn draws workers from far and wide
The 6,214 jobs in Elkhorn are filled from a wide area. Elkhorn’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Elkhorn’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elkhorn is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #164 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($77,649, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elkhorn could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Elkhorn
On a workday 4,349 residents head out to work, 827 work right here, and 5,387 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Elkhorn on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 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.
Commuting out of Elkhorn: the destinations
Where Elkhorn clocks in
7% of workers
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 work there is in Elkhorn: 6,214 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elkhorn, 2013 → 2023: 4,988 → 6,214. 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 Elkhorn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Elkhorn
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elkhorn workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,077 commuters (the 10% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Elkhorn
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.
Most trips from Elkhorn start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elkhorn is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns, #190 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,661 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). 5.1% of Elkhorn households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elkhorn’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elkhorn places 792nd of 2,878 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Genesee WI | 7,235 | $119K | 3.3% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Greenville WI | 13,388 | $118K | 1.7% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 790 | Mountain Park GA | 12,850 | $96K | 12.9% | 2.3% | 2% | A− |
| 791 | Tarrytown NY | 11,890 | $107K | 7.9% | 4.8% | 8% | A− |
| 792 | Elkhorn WI | 10,045 | $78K | 7.6% | 1.3% | 16% | A− |
| 793 | South Abington Township PA | 9,624 | $114K | 2.9% | 5.0% | 9% | A− |
| 794 | Bonita CA | 12,652 | $119K | 7.5% | 4.8% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Elkhorn, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Elkhorn and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Geneva (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elkhorn workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhorn | – | A− | B− | 21 min | $77,649 |
| Sugar Creek | under 2% | A | B | 27 min | $101,703 |
| Geneva | 2% | A | B− | 28 min | $96,154 |
| Lafayette | under 2% | A | C+ | 25 min | $111,500 |
| Delavan | under 2% | B+ | C− | 27 min | $75,824 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elkhorn’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 Elkhorn: questions
What is the median household income in Elkhorn?
$77,649 (±$7,036) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elkhorn?
7.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elkhorn?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elkhorn work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Delavan (7%, 6 mi), Madison (6%, 54 mi), Lake Geneva (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elkhorn walkable?
Elkhorn is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elkhorn without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elkhorn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elkhorn
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.