Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Hayti are among the lowest of any U.S. town
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. 42.5% of residents live below the poverty line (Missouri 12.6%). For jobs and income Hayti is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Hayti apart
Fewer jobs are based in Hayti than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hayti fell from 2,042 in 2013 to 1,175 in 2023, −42%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Hayti workers earn over $40,000 a year
37% of Hayti’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 24% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Few Hayti workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 852 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Hayti’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Hayti is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Hayti’s grade up (ahead of 18% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($24,881, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (10.5%) is left out: Hayti’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Hayti stays D−.
The kinds of work in Hayti
1,175 jobs are based in Hayti.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hayti, 2013 → 2023: 2,042 → 1,175. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hayti’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Hayti: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hayti workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 719 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who commutes out of Hayti, and who commutes in
On a workday 651 residents head out to work, 201 work right here, and 974 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Hayti on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Caruthersville
Where Hayti clocks in
12% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Hayti’s commute, mile by mile
About 26% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Hayti, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 740 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 13.8% of Hayti households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hayti’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hayti and other U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 49 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,224 | Drew MS | 1,658 | $24K | 34.6% | 13.7% | 3% | D− |
| 5,225 | Bruce MS | 1,608 | $27K | 31.1% | 3.2% | 14% | D− |
| 5,226 | Hayti MO | 2,277 | $25K | 42.5% | 10.5% | 24% | D− |
| 5,227 | Estill SC | 1,778 | $36K | 24.4% | 6.4% | 6% | D− |
| 5,228 | Blackville SC | 1,925 | $22K | 32.9% | 1.5% | 6% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Hayti, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Work in the towns next to Hayti
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hayti workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayti | – | D− | B− | 21 min | $24,881 |
| Hayti Heights | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hayti Heights: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hayti’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Hayti: questions
What is the median household income in Hayti?
$24,881 (±$6,185) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hayti?
42.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hayti?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hayti work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Caruthersville (12%, 6 mi), Kennett (6%, 17 mi), Portageville (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hayti walkable?
Hayti is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hayti without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hayti, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hayti
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.