Work & commute · Mississippi State

Work & commute in Mississippi State, MS

Most working residents leave Mississippi State for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Starkville (27%), Columbus (6%) and Jackson (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27 of 1,109 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,082 Mississippi State residents head out of town to work, 27 work right here, and 739 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Mississippi State.

1,082live here, work elsewhere

27live and work here

739work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Mississippi State goes to work

Starkville2.2 mi away

27%294

Columbus22.5 mi away

6%61

Jackson113.8 mi away

4%39

Mississippi State (in town)right here

2%27

West Point13.2 mi away

2%24

Tupelo56.7 mi away

2%23

Oxford75.5 mi away

2%19

Meridian74 mi away

1%16

Southaven123.8 mi away

1%12

Ridgeland106.5 mi away

1%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%584

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

How far

How far Mississippi State commutes

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

47%

12%

37%

47%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

37%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Mississippi State is a commuter town

0.69jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Mississippi State are

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

Jobs based in Mississippi State

766 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less43%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month29%

Jobs Mississippi State residents hold

1,109 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−86%

Jobs based in Mississippi State, 2013 → 2023: 5,641 → 766. 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.