Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0For about two in five of its working residents, Olive Branch is a commute to Memphis
For jobs and income Olive Branch is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (C). Measured by household income, Olive Branch is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. About one in five stay in Olive Branch for work; outside it, Memphis is the main destination (40%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Olive Branch: the figures worth knowing
Many Olive Branch workers cross into Tennessee
49% of Olive Branch workers work outside Mississippi, most of them in Tennessee, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Jobs in Olive Branch have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Olive Branch went from 15,001 in 2013 to 31,016 in 2023, +107%. The jobs ↓
Many of the people who work in Olive Branch live in another state
Memphis, TN (24%), Collierville, TN (1%) and Bartlett, TN (1%) are among the top places Olive Branch’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 27% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
60% of the jobs in Olive Branch are in trade, transport and utilities, against 36% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Olive Branch
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Olive Branch’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Olive Branch could be anywhere from A to A+.
Where the trip to work from Olive Branch ends
Where Olive Branch clocks in
40% of workers
9% 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.
What Olive Branch’s employers do
31,016 jobs are based in Olive Branch.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Olive Branch, 2013 → 2023: 15,001 → 31,016. 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 Olive Branch’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Olive Branch
On a workday 17,877 residents head out to work, 4,060 work right here, and 26,956 people come in from elsewhere.
About 57,000 people are in Olive Branch on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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.
About 25 minutes each way for Olive Branch’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Olive Branch workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,898 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.
How far it is to work from Olive Branch
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.
Driving is how Olive Branch gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 24,782 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). 3.3% of Olive Branch households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Olive Branch’s commuters take a bus or train.
Olive Branch next to U.S. towns of 33,000 to 64,000: 98th of 941 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Wayne Township NJ | 54,819 | $153K | 3.4% | 4.9% | 11% | A |
| 97 | Prairieville LA | 35,238 | $105K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 7% | A |
| 98 | Olive Branch MS | 47,563 | $101K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 19% | A |
| 99 | Cottage Grove MN | 43,604 | $121K | 4.2% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 100 | Mount Laurel Township NJ | 47,738 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.9% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 483 | Southaven MS | 57,819 | $78K | 12.6% | 3.3% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 770 | Tupelo MS | 38,087 | $66K | 15.1% | 5.2% | 53% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 854 | Biloxi MS | 48,516 | $57K | 16.4% | 7.7% | 35% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 941 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Olive Branch, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
53% of Olive Branch works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Olive Branch workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Branch | – | A | C | 25 min | $100,606 |
| Bridgetown | under 1% | A− | D− | 40 min | $139,224 |
| Southaven | 9% | B+ | C | 24 min | $78,483 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Memphis. Darker towns draw more of Olive Branch’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 Olive Branch: questions
What is the median household income in Olive Branch?
$100,606 (±$8,563) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Olive Branch?
4.6%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Olive Branch?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Olive Branch work?
19% work in town.
Is Olive Branch walkable?
Olive Branch is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Olive Branch without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Olive Branch, from the people who make the trip.
More of Olive Branch
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.