Photo: Roastedbeanz1 · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Florence (6.3%) than in 77% of U.S. towns
Florence grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Only 5% stay in Florence for work; outside it, Jackson is the main destination (25%, 12 miles). Commuters spend 32 minutes getting to work on average; the Mississippi average is 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Florence, in a few figures
Stores, warehouses and trucking
47% of the jobs in Florence are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Florence workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 26 across Mississippi. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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.
Florence’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Florence is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #17 of 99 in Mississippi. The poverty rate holds Florence’s grade up (6.7%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Florence could be anywhere from C to A+.
Jobs in Florence: what the 2,716 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Florence, 2013 → 2023: 2,589 → 2,716. 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 Florence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Florence: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Florence workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,254 commuters (the 4% 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.
Who works in Florence, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,789 residents head out to work, 97 work right here, and 2,619 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Florence on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 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.
Commuting out of Florence: the destinations
Where Florence clocks in
25% 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.
Miles to work from Florence
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Florence
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Florence is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #9 of 101 in Mississippi. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 13.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 1.8% across Mississippi, on an EPA index of 6.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,353 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). 9.4% of Florence households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of Florence’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Florence ranks: 1,678th of 3,753 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 920 | Gluckstadt MS | 3,500 | $124K | 5.3% | 5.4% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 977 | New Hope MS | 3,952 | $80K | 2.9% | 1.2% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 985 | Gulf Park Estates MS | 6,264 | $66K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,676 | Vancleave MS | 5,078 | $70K | 6.2% | 3.0% | 10% | B |
| 1,677 | Paola KS | 5,880 | $75K | 7.8% | 4.2% | 21% | B |
| 1,678 | Florence MS | 4,816 | $86K | 6.7% | 6.3% | 5% | B |
| 1,679 | Jefferson Township IN | 5,689 | $71K | 9.2% | 2.3% | 17% | B |
| 1,680 | National Harbor MD | 4,454 | $110K | 13.4% | 8.9% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,753 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Florence, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
The towns around Florence
The biggest share goes to Richland (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Florence’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 Florence: questions
What is the median household income in Florence?
$86,308 (±$17,196) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Florence?
6.7%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Florence?
32 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Florence work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jackson (25%, 12 mi), Flowood (10%, 13 mi), Richland (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Florence walkable?
Florence is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Florence without a car?
14% 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 Florence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Florence
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.