Rocket Propulsion Test Complex · Photo: NASA/photographer unknown · Public domainHousehold incomes in Pearlington are lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Pearlington D; getting around on foot earns it D−. Below the poverty line: 22.6% of residents, against 18.9% across Mississippi. Only 1% work in Pearlington; the top destination outside it is Bay St. Louis (10%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Pearlington: the figures worth knowing
Pearlington is a place people come home to
There are 31 jobs based in Pearlington, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Pearlington has about 890 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Pearlington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 26 across Mississippi. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 423 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Pearlington: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Pearlington is better than 11% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Pearlington’s grade up (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($44,507, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (6.5%) is left out: Pearlington’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, Pearlington could be anywhere from D to C.
A workday in Pearlington: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 417 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere.
About 890 people are in Pearlington on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.07 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.
Each way, about 34 minutes from Pearlington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pearlington workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 515 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Pearlington
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.
The places Pearlington commutes to
Where Pearlington clocks in
10% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in Pearlington: what the 31 are
31 jobs are based in Pearlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pearlington, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 31. 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 Pearlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Pearlington: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pearlington is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Pearlington 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 536 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 Pearlington households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pearlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pearlington is 3,917th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,621 | Columbus AFB MS | 1,293 | $70K | 6.3% | 1.9% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,859 | Hurley MS | 1,305 | $133K | 12.6% | 4.7% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,987 | Robinhood MS | 1,298 | $70K | 14.1% | 5.1% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,915 | North Township OH | 1,549 | $61K | 18.0% | 1.2% | 4% | D |
| 3,916 | Cherrytree Township PA | 1,276 | $57K | 15.3% | 7.1% | 2% | D |
| 3,917 | Pearlington MS | 1,278 | $45K | 22.6% | 6.5% | 1% | D |
| 3,918 | Seeley Lake MT | 1,496 | $50K | 9.8% | 0.0% | 28% | D |
| 3,919 | Oquawka IL | 1,065 | $54K | 15.9% | 14.3% | 11% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | 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 Pearlington, 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 Pearlington: questions
What is the median household income in Pearlington?
$44,507 (±$19,830) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pearlington?
22.6%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pearlington?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pearlington work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bay St. Louis (10%, 16 mi), Gulfport (7%, 34 mi), Slidell (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pearlington walkable?
Pearlington is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pearlington 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 Pearlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pearlington
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.