Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY 4.0Lexington’s household incomes are lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Lexington are D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 22.7% of residents are in poverty, against 18.9% across Mississippi. About one in ten work in Lexington itself; outside it, Jackson draws the most (9%, 56 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Lexington stands out on work
Lexington’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lexington is Jackson, 56 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (41) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% 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 ↓
Lexington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 26 across Mississippi. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 77 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; with 482 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Lexington’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Lexington is better than 3% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Lexington’s grade.
Unemployment (7.5%) is left out: Lexington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Lexington could be anywhere from D− to C−.
How far Lexington goes to work
About 36% 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.
From Lexington, about 36 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lexington workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 548 commuters (the <1% 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 Lexington: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 432 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 609 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Lexington on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 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 Lexington to work: where people go
Where Lexington clocks in
9% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
Inside Lexington’s 659 jobs
659 jobs are based in Lexington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lexington, 2013 → 2023: 635 → 659. 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 Lexington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Lexington start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lexington is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% 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 550 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). 8.1% of Lexington households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lexington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lexington compares with U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,933 | Arnold Line MS | 1,859 | $54K | 16.0% | 0.0% | <1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,001 | Columbus AFB MS | 1,293 | $70K | 6.3% | 1.9% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,293 | Hurley MS | 1,305 | $133K | 12.6% | 4.7% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,515 | Ferrum VA | 1,774 | $40K | 37.1% | 7.3% | 7% | D− |
| 5,516 | Louisville IL | 1,108 | $44K | 30.6% | 8.2% | 10% | D− |
| 5,517 | Lexington MS | 1,395 | $48K | 22.7% | 7.5% | 10% | D− |
| 5,518 | Dixon MO | 1,222 | $50K | 22.2% | 3.7% | 17% | D− |
| 5,519 | Polkton NC | 1,722 | $47K | 30.4% | 2.5% | 2% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Lexington, 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 Lexington: questions
What is the median household income in Lexington?
$48,417 (±$9,943) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lexington?
22.7%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lexington?
36 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. <1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lexington work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jackson (9%, 56 mi), Greenwood (6%, 29 mi), Canton (5%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lexington walkable?
Lexington is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lexington 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 Lexington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lexington
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.