Charles McLaran House · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainColumbus’ household incomes are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
About two in five stay in Columbus for work; outside it, Starkville is the main destination (5%, 24 miles). 21.3% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 18.9% for Mississippi as a whole. Jobs and income earn Columbus D; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Columbus and work: the main findings
Columbus is where the jobs are
Columbus has 15,816 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Columbus draws workers from far and wide
The 15,816 jobs in Columbus are filled from a wide area. Columbus’ own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 14%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of Columbus workers earn over $40,000 a year
39% of Columbus’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 21% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Columbus are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Mississippi. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Mississippi worker. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Columbus
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Columbus is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #73 of 99 in Mississippi. Job access by car holds Columbus’ grade up (ahead of 47% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($42,235, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbus could be anywhere from D to C−.
How a workday changes Columbus
On a workday 4,911 residents head out to work, 3,210 work right here, and 12,606 people come in from elsewhere.
About 30,000 people are in Columbus on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.9 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.
Where the people who work in Columbus live
Where Columbus clocks in
5% 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.
Inside Columbus’ 15,816 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 16,666 → 15,816. 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 Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes to work from Columbus
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,851 commuters (the 5% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Columbus
About 29% 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 Columbus commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns, #29 of 101 in Mississippi. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 9,354 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). 9.3% of Columbus households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbus’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Columbus compares with U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Madison MS | 28,575 | $119K | 4.8% | 2.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 728 | Hernando MS | 18,824 | $77K | 8.8% | 2.5% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 849 | Ocean Springs MS | 18,993 | $80K | 5.5% | 4.2% | 23% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,686 | McAlester OK | 18,044 | $52K | 19.7% | 6.9% | 45% | D |
| 1,687 | Brawley CA | 28,008 | $59K | 21.3% | 15.5% | 26% | D |
| 1,688 | Columbus MS | 22,792 | $42K | 21.3% | 8.7% | 40% | D |
| 1,689 | Jamestown NY | 27,663 | $44K | 25.3% | 9.0% | 34% | D |
| 1,690 | Elmira NY | 26,089 | $43K | 30.2% | 9.9% | 31% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Columbus, 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 Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$42,235 (±$6,142) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
21.3%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
40% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Starkville (5%, 24 mi), Tupelo (5%, 56 mi), West Point (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus walkable?
Columbus is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
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.