Jefferson College · Photo: Elisa Rolle · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.0 jobs for every working resident, most of Morgantown works elsewhere
There are 15 jobs in Morgantown, and 455 of its residents work somewhere. Morgantown grades D for jobs and income and D for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Morgantown, in a few figures
Morgantown is a place people come home to
There are 15 jobs based in Morgantown, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Morgantown has about 600 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
38% of Morgantown works in Natchez
174 working residents, 38%, have their main job in Natchez, 3 miles away across the town line. That’s far more as work in Morgantown itself. The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% 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; with 455 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Morgantown
On income, poverty and job access, Morgantown is better than 9% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Morgantown’s grade.
Unemployment (5.6%) is left out: Morgantown’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, Morgantown could be anywhere from D− to C+.
The daily flow of workers through Morgantown
On a workday 455 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.
About 600 people are in Morgantown on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
38% of working residents work in Natchez
Where Morgantown clocks in
4% 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 Morgantown commutes less than 8 miles
About 39% 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.
The kinds of work in Morgantown
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Morgantown, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 15. 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 Morgantown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Morgantown: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Morgantown workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 596 commuters (the 0% 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.
Most of Morgantown commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Morgantown is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 596 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). 0.0% of Morgantown households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Morgantown’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Morgantown ranks: 2,596th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 999 | Columbus AFB MS | 1,293 | $70K | 6.3% | 1.9% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,160 | Hurley MS | 1,305 | $133K | 12.6% | 4.7% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,242 | Robinhood MS | 1,298 | $70K | 14.1% | 5.1% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,594 | Marshall Township OH | 1,036 | $67K | 24.0% | 0.0% | 1% | D |
| 2,595 | Dreher Township PA | 1,373 | $52K | 24.8% | 5.0% | 2% | D |
| 2,596 | Morgantown MS | 1,038 | $52K | 19.2% | 5.6% | 0% | D |
| 2,597 | Saunders Lake OR | 1,338 | $64K | 18.1% | 0.0% | 2% | D |
| 2,598 | Newell WV | 1,246 | $60K | 25.8% | 18.2% | 3% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | 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 Morgantown, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
Morgantown and its neighbors: 38% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Morgantown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgantown | – | D | D | 15 min | $52,308 |
| Natchez | 38% | D | B− | 19 min | $36,735 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Natchez. Darker towns draw more of Morgantown’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 Morgantown: questions
What is the median household income in Morgantown?
$52,308 (±$24,464) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Morgantown?
19.2%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Morgantown?
15 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Morgantown work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Natchez (38%, 3 mi), Hattiesburg (4%, 121 mi), Jackson (4%, 84 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Morgantown walkable?
Morgantown is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Morgantown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Morgantown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Morgantown
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.