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Work & commute in Elma Center · A commuter town

99% of Elma Center’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Elma Center for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Buffalo (23%), Amherst (11%) and Elma (8%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Work in town
1%
17 of 1,373 working residents
Typical commute
11 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
28 min
Less than NY (33 min)
Work from home
15%
More than NY (15%)
Jobs based here
879
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Elma Center?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

23% of working residents work in Buffalo

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Buffalo: 315 residents work here (23%)Aurora: 97 residents work here (7%)Elma: 114 residents work here (8%)Amherst: 146 residents work here (11%)West Seneca: 85 residents work here (6%)Orchard Park: 41 residents work here (3%)Lancaster: 65 residents work here (5%)Marilla: 44 residents work here (3%)Cheektowaga: 114 residents work here (8%)Hamburg: 38 residents work here (3%)Billington HeightsElma CenterBuffaloAmherstElmaCheektowagaAuroraWest SenecaElma Center
1
Buffalo12.2 mi away
23%315
2
Amherst14.1 mi away
11%146
3
Elma0.7 mi away
8%114
4
Cheektowaga7.8 mi away
8%114
5
Aurora6.2 mi away
7%97
6
West Seneca6 mi away
6%85
7
Lancaster5.7 mi away
5%65
8
Marilla5.4 mi away
3%44
9
Orchard Park7.5 mi away
3%41
10
Hamburg12.9 mi away
3%38
Everywhere elseother towns and states
23%314
The top trips

Where Elma Center clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

The jobs

77% of the jobs in Elma Center pay over $3,333 a month

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

Jobs based in Elma CenterJobs Elma Center residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms27%17%
Trade, transport & utilities14%17%
Services: health, schools, offices59%66%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less9%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month14%18%
Over $3,333 a month77%67%

Who does it

29 or younger19%23%
30 to 5457%46%
55 and older25%31%
+58%

Jobs based in Elma Center, 2013 → 2023: 558 → 879. 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.

Time on the road

About 28 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
212 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Elma Center28 min
New York33 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
15%

of Elma Center workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
Day and night

Elma Center quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,356 residents head out to work, 17 work right here, and 862 people come in from elsewhere.

1,356live here, work elsewhere
17live and work here
862work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,800
Workday2,300
2,800live here− 1,400head out to work+ 860come in to work= 2,300on a workday

About 2,300 people are in Elma Center on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.64jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Elma Center commutes less than 11 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miBuffalo: 23% · 12.2 miAmherst: 11% · 14.1 miElma: 8% · 0.7 miCheektowaga: 8% · 7.8 miAurora: 7% · 6.2 miWest Seneca: 6% · 6 miLancaster: 5% · 5.7 miMarilla: 3% · 5.4 miOrchard Park: 3% · 7.5 miHamburg: 3% · 12.9 miBuffalo 23%Amherst 11%Elma 8%Cheektowaga 8%Aurora 7%Elma Center
Elma CenterTop destinations (size = commuters)
48%Under 10 mi659 residents
40%10–24 mi548 residents
3%25–50 mi44 residents
9%Over 50 mi122 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Next door

Elma Center and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Elma Center’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

Billington Heights: few work hereBillington HeightsElma Center
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Elma Center

Elma Center home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Elma Center, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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Ask neighbors

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.

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