Work & commute · Elba

Work & commute in Elba, MI

Most working residents leave Elba for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Ithaca (9%), Alma (8%) and St. Louis (6%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12 of 355 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 343 Elba residents head out of town to work, 12 work right here, and 152 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elba.

343live here, work elsewhere

12live and work here

152work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elba goes to work

Ithaca12.4 mi away

9%32

Alma19.1 mi away

8%27

St. Louis19.5 mi away

6%23

St. Johns12.9 mi away

6%23

Elba (in town)right here

3%12

Washington5.7 mi away

3%12

Midland33.5 mi away

3%9

North Star8.1 mi away

2%8

Duplain6.1 mi away

2%8

Grand Rapids63.6 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

55%194

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Elba commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

15%

39%

17%

29%

15%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elba is a commuter town

0.46jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.46 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Elba are

164 jobs are based in Elba. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elba’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elba

164 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month35%

Jobs Elba residents hold

355 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−29%

Jobs based in Elba, 2011 → 2021: 230 → 164. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2021. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.