Work & commute · Charleston

Work & commute in Charleston, MS

About one in 4 of Charleston’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Grenada (9%), Batesville (7%) and Greenwood (3%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

24%

137 of 576 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 439 Charleston residents head out of town to work, 137 work right here, and 1,001 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Charleston.

439live here, work elsewhere

137live and work here

1,001work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Charleston goes to work

Charleston (in town)right here

24%137

Grenada21 mi away

9%51

Batesville22.9 mi away

7%41

Greenwood35.2 mi away

3%17

Jackson117.2 mi away

3%17

Oxford38 mi away

3%16

Olive Branch66.6 mi away

2%9

Water Valley26.6 mi away

1%8

Cleveland42.7 mi away

1%8

Memphis, TN76.3 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%264

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

How far

How far Charleston commutes

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

30%

23%

20%

27%

30%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Charleston is a job hub

1.98jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Charleston are

1,138 jobs are based in Charleston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Charleston

1,138 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month45%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Charleston residents hold

576 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month38%

+8%

Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 1,056 → 1,138. 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.