Work & commute · Water Valley

Work & commute in Water Valley, MS

Most working residents leave Water Valley for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Oxford (21%), Batesville (4%) and Jackson (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

235 of 1,279 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 1,044 Water Valley residents head out of town to work, 235 work right here, and 820 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Water Valley.

1,044live here, work elsewhere

235live and work here

820work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Water Valley goes to work

Oxford14.1 mi away

21%265

Water Valley (in town)right here

18%235

Batesville20.1 mi away

4%50

Jackson131.9 mi away

3%34

Tupelo51.8 mi away

2%31

Grenada28.3 mi away

1%19

Ridgeland124 mi away

1%18

Bruce20.1 mi away

1%17

Starkville66.7 mi away

1%11

Corinth83.6 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%590

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

How far

How far Water Valley commutes

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

23%

42%

29%

23%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Water Valley is balanced between jobs and homes

0.82jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Water Valley are

1,055 jobs are based in Water Valley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Water Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Water Valley

1,055 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month45%

Over $3,333 a month28%

Jobs Water Valley residents hold

1,279 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month43%

−7%

Jobs based in Water Valley, 2013 → 2023: 1,139 → 1,055. 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.