The local economy of Mississippi and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
3.4%
-0.3 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Jones County 2.4%, highest Jefferson County 9.1%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,051
+3.3%vs a year ago
1,162,883 jobs at 93,255 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
8,718
+9.5%this year vs last year
Most in Harrison County 2,180, DeSoto County 910.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-3,109
-1.4 per 1,000residents
57,236 moved in and 60,345 moved out. Most newcomers came from Tennessee.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Mississippi gas price
$3.94
+$1.27vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Jones County $3.81, highest Claiborne County $4.39. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Mississippi, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
60K
0.0%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
956K
+1.2%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (17.6%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$45.5B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$47,550
Highest sector: Utilities $96,882.
Per employee per year
Share of Mississippi's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 99,708 | $17,836 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 57,093 | $68,531 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 30,587 | $28,536 |
| Employment Services | 29,182 | $31,513 |
| Traveler Accommodation | 27,672 | $33,324 |
| Offices of Physicians | 19,028 | $91,775 |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 18,488 | $38,960 |
| Religious Organizations | 17,835 | $21,562 |
| Grocery Stores | 17,744 | $24,363 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 17,240 | $73,449 |
| Household and Institutional Furniture and Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturing | 15,912 | $37,121 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | 14,697 | $38,412 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Mississippi, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Mississippi is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Mississippi, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Mississippi was 3.4% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.7% a year earlier. 1,230,940 people were employed out of a labor force of 1,274,635. Among its counties, Jones County had the lowest rate (2.4%) and Jefferson County the highest (9.1%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Mississippi was $1,051 in Q1 2026, up 3.3% from a year earlier, across 1,162,883 jobs at 93,255 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 661 new homes in Mississippi in August 2026 (609 single-family and 39 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 5,837, up 9.5% from the same months last year, and 8,718 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Harrison County (2,180), DeSoto County (910), Jackson County (882) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 57,236 people moved to Mississippi and 60,345 moved away, a net loss of 3,109 (-1.4 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, and most people who left went to Tennessee, Texas, Alabama.
Regular gasoline in Mississippi averaged $3.94 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.27 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $5.89. Among its counties, Jones County had the lowest regular price ($3.81) and Claiborne County the highest ($4.39).
Health Care and Social Assistance (168,795 employees), Manufacturing (146,261 employees), Retail Trade (136,728 employees) were the largest sectors in Mississippi in 2023. In all, 60,465 business locations employed 956,079 people at an average pay of $47,550 a year.