Work & commute · Elkin

Work & commute in Elkin, NC

About one in 4 of Elkin’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Winston-Salem (9%), Jonesville (4%) and Wilkesboro (4%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

381 of 1,527 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,146 Elkin residents head out of town to work, 381 work right here, and 4,235 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elkin.

1,146live here, work elsewhere

381live and work here

4,235work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elkin goes to work

Elkin (in town)right here

25%381

Winston-Salem34.5 mi away

9%140

Jonesville2.1 mi away

4%64

Wilkesboro20.2 mi away

4%58

Mount Airy21.3 mi away

4%57

Charlotte72.9 mi away

3%52

Dobson11.3 mi away

3%43

Statesville33.2 mi away

2%32

Yadkinville14 mi away

2%27

Raleigh126.8 mi away

2%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%649

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

How far

How far Elkin commutes

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

37%

21%

24%

18%

37%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elkin is a job hub

3.02jobs per working resident

A job hub

3.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Elkin are

4,616 jobs are based in Elkin. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elkin’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elkin

4,616 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Elkin residents hold

1,527 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+10%

Jobs based in Elkin, 2013 → 2023: 4,207 → 4,616. 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 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.