With 3,483 people, Elma is a city in Washington. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 21% of adults. The poverty rate is 24.9%, above the 12.5% national rate. The median age is 42.6, about 4 years above the US median. The foreign-born share is 6%. Households here earn about 20% less than in Washington as a whole.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $78,086, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 42.6
US median: 38.9
Less educated
21% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 134%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Elma
What changed most since 1990
Median home value (2024 dollars)$106,323 → $409,600(+285%)US over the same years: +67%
Homes owned by their occupants50.0% → 66.7%(+16.7 pts)US over the same years: +0.9 pts
Median household income (2024 dollars)$43,014 → $78,086(+82%)US over the same years: +14%
Elma's population equals 4.5% of Grays Harbor County's. Its number of residents living in poverty equals 7.4% of the county's. Its number of residents 65 and older equals 3.2% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)34.6%(82)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)33.8%(80)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era26.6%(63)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War0%(0)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 237 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Elma, decade by decade
Elma population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
3,011
$43,014
$106,323
6.5%
18.4
2000
3,049
$58,349
$174,879
9.8%
24.7
2010
3,107
$55,789
$209,456
11.3%
37.6
2020
3,438
$81,813
$216,834
19.4%
47.9
2024
3,483
$78,086
$409,600
21.3%
42.6
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
