Photo: Dofftoubab · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Nicholson (12.2%) is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
25.4% of residents are in poverty, against 18.9% across Mississippi. For jobs and income Nicholson is better than 8% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (B). Measured by household income, Nicholson is behind 88% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Nicholson: the figures worth knowing
Nicholson is a place people come home to
There are 183 jobs based in Nicholson, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Nicholson and Picayune trade workers both ways
Picayune is the top workplace for Nicholson residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Nicholson come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% 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 878 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Nicholson
Job access by car holds Nicholson’s grade up (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nicholson could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How many people are in Nicholson by day
On a workday 864 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 169 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Nicholson on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.21 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
21% of working residents work in Picayune
Where Nicholson clocks in
21% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Nicholson
About 30% 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 work there is in Nicholson: 183 jobs
183 jobs are based in Nicholson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nicholson, 2013 → 2023: 107 → 183. 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 Nicholson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Nicholson
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nicholson workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,342 commuters (the 8% 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 Nicholson commutes by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 1.8% across Mississippi, on an EPA index of 6.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,453 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). 17.4% of Nicholson households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nicholson’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Nicholson compares with U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 584 | Bridgetown MS | 3,195 | $139K | 1.0% | 5.8% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 933 | Gluckstadt MS | 3,500 | $124K | 5.3% | 5.4% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 996 | New Hope MS | 3,952 | $80K | 2.9% | 1.2% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,184 | Lavonia GA | 2,200 | $37K | 26.8% | 11.6% | 17% | D |
| 4,185 | Carrollton MO | 3,499 | $50K | 23.5% | 5.2% | 39% | D |
| 4,186 | Nicholson MS | 3,146 | $50K | 25.4% | 12.2% | 2% | D |
| 4,187 | Mitchell IN | 4,019 | $49K | 20.7% | 7.4% | 17% | D |
| 4,188 | Sylva NC | 2,691 | $44K | 19.4% | 7.3% | 18% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Nicholson, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
The towns next door employ 21% of Nicholson
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Picayune. Darker towns draw more of Nicholson’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 Nicholson: questions
What is the median household income in Nicholson?
$50,114 (±$19,585) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nicholson?
25.4%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nicholson?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nicholson work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Picayune (21%, 3 mi), Slidell (6%, 15 mi), New Orleans (4%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nicholson walkable?
Nicholson is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nicholson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nicholson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nicholson
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.