Employment in Mississippi’s two largest counties rose between March 2024 and March 2025, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Hinds County recorded a 0.3 percent increase in employment, the highest among the state’s large counties.
In March 2025, Hinds County had 109,200 employed persons. The combined employment of Hinds and Harrison counties represented 17.1 percent of all covered jobs in Mississippi during this period. For comparison, the nation’s 372 largest counties accounted for 73.4 percent of total covered employment across the United States.
Both Hinds and Harrison saw increases in average weekly wages over the year. Wages in Hinds County grew by 5.2 percent, while Harrison County experienced a 3.7 percent increase.
Despite these gains, average weekly wages remained below the national figure of $1,589. In March 2025, Hinds reported an average weekly wage of $1,200 and Harrison reported $990.
For smaller counties—those with fewer than 75,000 employed persons—the BLS also published wage data but not annual changes. Of these 80 small Mississippi counties, only Claiborne exceeded the national average wage at $1,607 per week; Issaquena had the lowest at $601 per week.
Across all Mississippi counties (totaling 82), ten reported average weekly wages under $775; twenty-three fell between $775 and $849; twenty-two ranged from $850 to $924; ten were between $925 and $999; and seventeen had average weekly wages of at least $1,000.
More information on county-level employment and wage statistics is available through regular BLS releases and online resources such as the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.
The next release covering second quarter data for 2025 is scheduled for December 3, 2025.
