Work & commute · Elgin

Work & commute in Elgin, OR

Most working residents leave Elgin for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are La Grande (23%), Pendleton (4%) and Portland (3%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

51 of 586 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 535 Elgin residents head out of town to work, 51 work right here, and 114 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elgin.

535live here, work elsewhere

51live and work here

114work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elgin goes to work

La Grande18.4 mi away

23%136

Elgin (in town)right here

9%51

Pendleton44.1 mi away

4%22

Portland228.8 mi away

3%16

Baker City54.7 mi away

2%14

Imbler7.4 mi away

2%10

Pasco, WA75.3 mi away

2%10

Island City17 mi away

2%9

Richland, WA82.7 mi away

1%8

Ontario116 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%303

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

How far

How far Elgin commutes

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

23%

40%

29%

23%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elgin is a commuter town

0.28jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Elgin are

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

Jobs based in Elgin

165 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities50%

Services (health, schools, offices…)32%

$1,250 a month or less31%

$1,251–$3,333 a month45%

Over $3,333 a month24%

Jobs Elgin residents hold

586 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−18%

Jobs based in Elgin, 2013 → 2023: 202 → 165. 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.