Though state leaders typically emphasize monetary achievements, a deeper concern persists as Mississippi continues to lose lots of its most extremely educated residents, putting the long-term stability and competitiveness of the state’s financial system in severe jeopardy.
The 2020 Census initially reported that Mississippi misplaced greater than 6,000 residents, making it one among solely three states to indicate inhabitants decline. However follow-up evaluation by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated a serious undercount, about 4.11%. Most of these undercounted have been Black and Brown Mississippians, revealing structural boundaries that proceed to distort our understanding of who lives right here and what they want.
When communities of colour are systematically undercounted, they lose political illustration in Congress and state legislatures, they usually obtain fewer federal assets for colleges, well being care and infrastructure over your entire decade between censuses. The undercount perpetuates a cycle the place the communities most in want of funding and assist grow to be invisible to policymakers.
The deeper concern is that too lots of our residents, particularly our most educated, are nonetheless leaving for higher jobs or underemployed. It is a disaster distant work may also help remedy. By increasing entry to well-paying, location-independent jobs, we are able to retain expertise, shut fairness gaps, and construct an financial system that displays the total potential of all Mississippians.
The Hidden Disaster
Mississippi faces a peculiar employment paradox.The state’s workforce development plan shows underemployment is particularly excessive amongst residents with superior levels, whereas many roles requiring lower than an affiliate’s diploma go unfilled. Solely about 23% of jobs in Mississippi require a bachelor’s diploma or larger, but a a lot bigger share of the inhabitants holds these levels, leaving a lot of our expertise underutilized.
Stroll by way of Jackson’s metro space, residence to half a dozen faculties and universities serving a area of over 500,000 individuals and you will note the proof in all places. Regardless of holding a number of grasp’s levels or doctorates, Mississippi academics earn a median of simply $53,704, one of many lowest within the nation and proof not of honest compensation, however of the lengths they’ve gone simply to make a livable wage.
These are sensible minds able to contributing way more to our financial system, but they’re trapped in a system that undervalues their potential.
The query each Mississippi mother or father asks echoes this disaster of whether or not their kids and even their grandchildren will be capable of discover good work right here at residence in Mississippi. Each Mississippi household is aware of this ache intimately—the empty chair at Sunday dinner, the lacking voice within the church choir and the son or daughter whose bed room turns into a shrine to desires deferred. We’ve all felt the ache of watching somebody we love pack their life right into a U-Haul certain for Atlanta, Nashville, or Dallas.
A Private Financial Historical past
This was not all the time our actuality. After I graduated faculty, Mississippi’s financial system was vibrant. Downtown Jackson bustled with vitality, residence to Fortune 500 corporations like WorldCom, main monetary companies, and a thriving enterprise ecosystem. However then got here the dot-com crash, the housing disaster, and a sequence of financial shocks that flattened our momentum.
Now we have been higher earlier than, which implies we will be higher once more.
Distant work presents Mississippi an unprecedented alternative to rebuild and strengthen our financial system with out ready for the following company headquarters to relocate right here. When companies embrace distant work, they acquire entry to our state’s educated workforce whereas providing salaries that replicate broader market charges somewhat than depressed native wages.
This isn’t about exploitation—it’s about financial empowerment. A software program developer in Jackson incomes 90% of a Silicon Valley wage is just not being shortchanged; they’re gaining large buying energy in a state the place housing prices a fraction of California costs. That very same skilled should purchase a good looking residence, assist native companies, and construct generational wealth whereas contributing to an organization’s success from proper right here in Mississippi.
The multiplier impact is highly effective. When distant employees earn aggressive salaries, they don’t simply profit individually—they raise your entire native financial system. Native companies should compete for expertise, driving up wages throughout sectors. Eating places, retail institutions and repair suppliers all profit from elevated client spending. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Constructing Generational Wealth and Neighborhood
Distant work addresses the essential problem to construct lasting communities and generational wealth. When younger professionals can earn aggressive salaries whereas having fun with Mississippi’s low value of dwelling, they’ll afford to remain, purchase houses, begin households, and contribute to their communities long-term.
This creates a constructive cycle. As a substitute of watching our brightest minds go away for alternatives elsewhere, we are able to provide them causes to remain and develop right here. As a substitute of seeing our faculties and universities as mere feeders for different states’ economies, they grow to be engines of development for our personal information financial system.
Mississippi’s leaders should acknowledge that financial improvement within the twenty first century is not only about attracting giant employers—it’s about empowering our current workforce and creating circumstances for distributed prosperity. This entails encouraging the adoption of versatile, remote-capable work environments, investing in infrastructure that allows distant work throughout each city and rural areas, positioning Mississippi as a lovely possibility for distant professionals relocating from high-cost areas and recognizing and supporting native expertise who select to pursue their careers right here.
A Future Price Staying For
Mississippi faces a transparent selection between persevering with to lose our most educated residents to states providing higher alternatives or embracing the distant work revolution that may carry these alternatives residence. Now we have the expertise, the standard of life and the financial fundamentals to compete. What we’d like now’s the imaginative and prescient to see distant work not as a short lived pandemic response, however as a everlasting aggressive benefit.
Our youngsters and grandchildren mustn’t have to decide on between profession success and staying residence. With the correct method to distant work, they won’t should. Mississippi can as soon as once more grow to be a spot the place gifted individuals don’t simply survive—they thrive, construct wealth, and create the inspiration for sustained financial development.
The way forward for work is distant. The way forward for Mississippi’s financial system will be brilliant. The one query is whether or not we are going to seize this chance or watch it go us by.
This MFP Voices opinion essay displays the private opinion of its creator(s). The column doesn’t essentially signify the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its employees or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices part, ship as much as 1,200 phrases and sources fact-checking the included info to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome all kinds of viewpoints.
