Work & commute · Hattiesburg

Work & commute in Hattiesburg, MS

56% of Hattiesburg’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Laurel (4%), Petal (3%) and Jackson (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

56%

8,628 of 15,405 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 6,777 Hattiesburg residents head out of town to work, 8,628 work right here, and 33,460 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Hattiesburg.

6,777live here, work elsewhere

8,628live and work here

33,460work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Hattiesburg goes to work

Hattiesburg (in town)right here

56%8,628

Laurel28.2 mi away

4%615

Petal5.6 mi away

3%387

Jackson87.3 mi away

2%329

Gulfport63.1 mi away

2%282

Columbia29.8 mi away

1%167

Purvis12.3 mi away

1%138

Collins27.8 mi away

1%119

Ellisville21 mi away

1%112

Biloxi64.9 mi away

1%107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%4,521

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

How far

How far Hattiesburg commutes

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

65%

21%

65%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Hattiesburg is a job hub

2.73jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Hattiesburg are

42,088 jobs are based in Hattiesburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hattiesburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Hattiesburg

42,088 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Hattiesburg residents hold

15,405 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month40%

+9%

Jobs based in Hattiesburg, 2013 → 2023: 38,577 → 42,088. 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.