Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Hattiesburg have lower incomes than those in 92% of U.S. towns
More than half work in Hattiesburg itself; outside it, Laurel draws the most (4%, 28 miles). Below the poverty line: 28.3% of residents, next to 18.9% across Mississippi. Hattiesburg grades D for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Hattiesburg: the figures worth knowing
Hattiesburg is where the jobs are
Hattiesburg has 42,088 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 75,000 people are in town, 55% more than the 49,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Hattiesburg are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 26 across Mississippi. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Mississippi worker, and quicker than any town next door (22 to 34 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Hattiesburg draws workers from far and wide
The 42,088 jobs in Hattiesburg are filled from a wide area. Hattiesburg’s 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 Hattiesburg workers earn over $40,000 a year
40% of Hattiesburg’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
A young workforce
30% of Hattiesburg’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Hattiesburg
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hattiesburg is better than 11% of U.S. towns, #67 of 99 in Mississippi. Job access by car holds Hattiesburg’s grade up (ahead of 59% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hattiesburg could be anywhere from D to C−.
The daily commute in and out of Hattiesburg
On a workday 6,777 residents head out to work, 8,628 work right here, and 33,460 people come in from elsewhere.
About 75,000 people are in Hattiesburg on a workday afternoon, 55% more than live here.
2.7 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.
How long Hattiesburg spends getting to work: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hattiesburg workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,169 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.
Where Hattiesburg’s workers come from
Where Hattiesburg clocks in
4% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
Jobs in Hattiesburg: what the 42,088 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hattiesburg, 2013 → 2023: 38,577 → 42,088. 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 Hattiesburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Hattiesburg commutes
About 21% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Hattiesburg
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hattiesburg is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #2 of 101 in Mississippi. Both inputs place Hattiesburg near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 23,257 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). 9.0% of Hattiesburg households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Hattiesburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hattiesburg and other U.S. towns of 34,000 to 66,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Olive Branch MS | 47,563 | $101K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 481 | Southaven MS | 57,819 | $78K | 12.6% | 3.3% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 759 | Tupelo MS | 38,087 | $66K | 15.1% | 5.2% | 53% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 914 | Rexburg ID | 40,334 | $51K | 32.5% | 8.8% | 42% | D |
| 915 | Youngstown OH | 58,832 | $34K | 37.3% | 11.9% | 21% | D |
| 916 | Hattiesburg MS | 48,802 | $46K | 28.3% | 8.7% | 56% | D |
| 917 | Monroe LA | 46,860 | $41K | 35.9% | 10.2% | 52% | D |
| 918 | Statesboro GA | 35,366 | $45K | 36.0% | 9.0% | 32% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 927 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Hattiesburg, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
Hattiesburg and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Petal (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hattiesburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hattiesburg | – | D | A− | 17 min | $46,342 |
| West Hattiesburg | under 1% | D | B | 24 min | $39,366 |
| Arnold Line | under 1% | B− | C | 27 min | $53,750 |
| Rawls Springs | under 1% | C+ | C− | 34 min | $47,022 |
| Petal | 3% | B− | C− | 22 min | $74,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hattiesburg’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 Hattiesburg: questions
What is the median household income in Hattiesburg?
$46,342 (±$4,231) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hattiesburg?
28.3%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hattiesburg?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hattiesburg work?
56% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Laurel (4%, 28 mi), Petal (3%, 6 mi), Jackson (2%, 87 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hattiesburg walkable?
Hattiesburg is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hattiesburg without a car?
<1% 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 Hattiesburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hattiesburg
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.