Households in Charleston have lower incomes than those in 97% of U.S. towns
18% of workers work from home (Mississippi 6%). 27.1% of residents live below the poverty line (Mississippi 18.9%). For jobs and income Charleston is better than 2% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Charleston in brief
Charleston is where the jobs are
Charleston has 1,138 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Charleston workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Charleston’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 22% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Charleston
18% of Charleston workers work from home, against 6% across Mississippi. 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 576 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Charleston gets the Jobs & income grade it does
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Charleston’s grade.
Unemployment (12.7%) is left out: Charleston’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Charleston could be anywhere from D− to D.
Charleston fills up on a workday
On a workday 439 residents head out to work, 137 work right here, and 1,001 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Charleston on a workday afternoon, 33% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Jobs in Charleston: what the 1,138 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 1,056 → 1,138. 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 Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Charleston: about 21 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Charleston workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 610 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Mississippi: 87% 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.
Where the people who work in Charleston live
Where Charleston clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Charleston
About 27% 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.
Most of Charleston commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 1.8% across Mississippi.
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). 5.9% of Charleston households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Charleston’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300, and where Charleston sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,756 | Lynchburg MS | 2,161 | $89K | 7.1% | 10.2% | <1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,772 | DeLisle MS | 1,906 | $72K | 7.2% | 3.9% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,805 | Sumrall MS | 2,299 | $70K | 4.4% | 6.9% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,575 | Cottonport LA | 1,916 | $32K | 27.4% | 6.2% | 7% | D− |
| 5,576 | Shaw MS | 1,337 | $30K | 37.5% | 8.7% | 4% | D− |
| 5,577 | Charleston MS | 1,688 | $37K | 27.1% | 12.7% | 24% | D− |
| 5,578 | Senath MO | 1,504 | $32K | 24.2% | 2.5% | 10% | D− |
| 5,579 | Hooker OK | 1,706 | $49K | 28.4% | 6.3% | 19% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Charleston, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
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 Charleston: questions
What is the median household income in Charleston?
$36,892 (±$8,565) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Charleston?
27.1%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Charleston?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Charleston work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grenada (9%, 21 mi), Batesville (7%, 23 mi), Greenwood (3%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Charleston walkable?
Charleston is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Charleston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Charleston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Charleston
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.