Work & commute · West Hattiesburg

Work & commute in West Hattiesburg, MS

Most working residents leave West Hattiesburg for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Hattiesburg (56%), Laurel (6%) and Columbia (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16 of 2,013 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 1,997 West Hattiesburg residents head out of town to work, 16 work right here, and 357 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Hattiesburg.

1,997live here, work elsewhere

16live and work here

357work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Hattiesburg goes to work

Hattiesburg3.5 mi away

56%1,122

Laurel29.5 mi away

6%111

Columbia26.3 mi away

2%41

Petal8.8 mi away

2%38

Jackson85.1 mi away

2%36

Gulfport64.2 mi away

2%34

Purvis11.4 mi away

2%32

Ellisville22.2 mi away

1%24

McComb64.8 mi away

1%17

West Hattiesburg (in town)right here

1%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%542

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

How far

How far West Hattiesburg commutes

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

64%

12%

18%

64%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Hattiesburg is a commuter town

0.19jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Hattiesburg are

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

Jobs based in West Hattiesburg

373 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities34%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs West Hattiesburg residents hold

2,013 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−25%

Jobs based in West Hattiesburg, 2013 → 2023: 495 → 373. 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.