Elma is a somewhat small town located in the state of New York. With a population of 8,729 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Elma is the 238th largest community in New York.

Elma is neither predominently blue-collar or white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Elma is a town of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Elma who work in office and administrative support jobs (13.43%), management occupations (11.58%), and sales jobs (11.05%).

In addition, Elma is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates." Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

Elma is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Elma's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

Elma is very much a car-oriented town. This is because the population of Elma isn't large enough or dense enough to support an extensive public transit system. It has a lot of rural roads, and the distance between houses can be quite large, which together tends to discourage walking and bicycling to work. 97.29% of residents commute to work in their own car (and the drive is typically to a job out of town). People also tend to drive out of town for other services as well, such as shopping, doctors appointments, and more.

As is often the case in a small town, Elma doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Elma Information and Demographics

The education level of Elma citizens is substantially higher than the average US city or town, as 28.67% of adults in Elma have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Elma in 2000 was $24,540, which is upper middle income relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $98,160 for a family of four.

The people who call Elma home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Elma is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Elma include Polish, German, Italian, Irish, and English.

The most common language spoken in Elma is English. Some people also speak Polish.