Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Kosciusko are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
25.7% of residents live below the poverty line (Mississippi 18.9%). Jobs and income earn Kosciusko D; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in three work in Kosciusko itself; outside it, Jackson draws the most (4%, 63 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Kosciusko, in brief
No single place dominates Kosciusko’s commute
The biggest draw, Jackson, gets only 4% of working residents, and 53% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Kosciusko residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of Kosciusko workers earn over $40,000 a year
40% of Kosciusko’s 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 ↓
Kosciusko workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Mississippi. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Inside Kosciusko’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kosciusko is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #84 of 99 in Mississippi. Unemployment holds Kosciusko’s grade up (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($40,085, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kosciusko could be anywhere from D− to C.
Where Kosciusko goes to work
Where Kosciusko clocks in
4% 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.
What the 3,218 jobs in Kosciusko are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kosciusko, 2013 → 2023: 3,349 → 3,218. 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 Kosciusko’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Kosciusko: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kosciusko workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,880 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Kosciusko
About 34% 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.
Who leaves Kosciusko for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,635 residents head out to work, 758 work right here, and 2,460 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,500 people are in Kosciusko on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 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.
Most trips from Kosciusko start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kosciusko is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #11 of 101 in Mississippi. Both inputs place Kosciusko 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 2,992 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). 12.9% of Kosciusko households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kosciusko’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kosciusko next to U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,100
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 961 | Gulf Park Estates MS | 6,264 | $66K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 971 | Saltillo MS | 5,060 | $81K | 6.8% | 1.3% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,573 | Vancleave MS | 5,078 | $70K | 6.2% | 3.0% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,115 | Calumet Township MI | 6,309 | $53K | 16.4% | 7.5% | 30% | D |
| 3,116 | Woodlake CA | 8,073 | $46K | 25.3% | 11.0% | 13% | D |
| 3,117 | Kosciusko MS | 6,722 | $40K | 25.7% | 5.5% | 32% | D |
| 3,118 | Belen NM | 7,589 | $43K | 31.2% | 8.0% | 16% | D |
| 3,119 | Hamlet NC | 5,870 | $42K | 21.6% | 8.7% | 9% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,253 | 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 Kosciusko, 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 Kosciusko: questions
What is the median household income in Kosciusko?
$40,085 (±$12,071) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kosciusko?
25.7%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kosciusko?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kosciusko work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jackson (4%, 63 mi), Carthage (3%, 22 mi), Starkville (2%, 52 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kosciusko walkable?
Kosciusko is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kosciusko without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kosciusko, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kosciusko
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.