Most of Helena commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
The average commute takes 28 minutes each way, where Mississippi has 26 and the U.S. 26. Employers in Helena report 20 jobs, and 399 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Helena for work; outside it, Pascagoula is the main destination (31%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Helena stands out on work
Helena is a place people come home to
There are 20 jobs based in Helena, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Helena has about 600 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
31% of Helena works in Pascagoula
123 working residents, 31%, have their main job in Pascagoula, 9.3 miles away. That’s 31 times as many as work in Helena itself. The commute map ↓
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 399 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who commutes out of Helena, and who commutes in
On a workday 396 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About 600 people are in Helena on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
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 Helena’s working residents head each day
Where Helena clocks in
31% of workers
12% of workers
6% 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 Helena: what the 20 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Helena, 2013 → 2023: 11 → 20. 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 Helena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 28 minutes in Helena
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Helena workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 555 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.
The commute from Helena, by distance
About 15% 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.
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 Helena: questions
What is the median household income in Helena?
$101,750 (±$36,207) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Helena?
10.0%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Helena?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Helena work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pascagoula (31%, 9 mi), Moss Point (12%, 5 mi), Biloxi (6%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Helena without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Helena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Helena
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.