Photo: Jimmy Emerson from Dalton GA · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Indianola trail those of 95% of U.S. towns
30.5% of residents live below the poverty line (Mississippi 18.9%). The two grades for Indianola are D− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in three work in Indianola; the top destination outside it is Greenville (6%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Indianola
Fewer than half of Indianola workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Indianola’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 ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
48% of the jobs in Indianola are in trade, transport and utilities, against 31% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Indianola are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 26 across Mississippi. That’s about 38 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Indianola
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Indianola is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #95 of 99 in Mississippi. Job access by car holds Indianola’s grade up (ahead of 31% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (13.1%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Indianola could be anywhere from D− to D.
The 4,322 jobs based in Indianola
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Indianola, 2013 → 2023: 4,195 → 4,322. 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 Indianola’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Indianola: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Indianola workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,453 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.
A workday in Indianola: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,152 residents head out to work, 1,163 work right here, and 3,159 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,600 people are in Indianola on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 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.
Out of Indianola to work: where people go
Where Indianola clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Half of Indianola commutes less than 20 miles
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.
Indianola is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Indianola is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #58 of 101 in Mississippi. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 3,641 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). 8.2% of Indianola households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Indianola’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Indianola compares with U.S. towns of 6,000 to 11,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 979 | Gulf Park Estates MS | 6,264 | $66K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,424 | Diamondhead MS | 9,441 | $87K | 7.0% | 4.2% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,492 | Flowood MS | 11,003 | $84K | 13.4% | 4.1% | 15% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,958 | Ville Platte LA | 6,172 | $28K | 31.2% | 22.8% | 19% | D− |
| 2,959 | Martins Ferry OH | 6,048 | $37K | 34.3% | 14.1% | 13% | D− |
| 2,960 | Indianola MS | 8,637 | $42K | 30.5% | 13.1% | 35% | D− |
| 2,961 | Union SC | 8,077 | $32K | 28.9% | 11.4% | 16% | D− |
| 2,962 | Middlesborough KY | 8,776 | $31K | 31.0% | 8.5% | 36% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,980 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Indianola, 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 Indianola: questions
What is the median household income in Indianola?
$41,708 (±$7,596) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Indianola?
30.5%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Indianola?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Indianola work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (6%, 24 mi), Greenwood (6%, 26 mi), Cleveland (4%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Indianola walkable?
Indianola is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Indianola 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 Indianola, from the people who make the trip.
More of Indianola
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.