Mississippi Economy: Manufacturing, Agriculture, and the Gulf Coast

Mississippi is a smaller state economy, usually ranked near the bottom of U.S. states by GDP — the dollar value of everything a place makes and sells in a year. The Mississippi economy runs on automotive and aerospace manufacturing, agriculture and timber, shipbuilding and gaming on the Gulf Coast, and a wide healthcare and education base anchored by the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

This is a plain-English tour. For the national picture, see The State of the U.S. Economy and the Economy hub.

How big is the Mississippi economy?

For example, recent state GDP for Mississippi has run around $145 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Population is roughly 2.9 million, per the U.S. Census Bureau. Jackson, the Gulf Coast (Biloxi-Gulfport), Tupelo, and Hattiesburg anchor the state's main regional economies.

The biggest industries

Mississippi's industry mix is more manufacturing-heavy than its agricultural reputation suggests. The main pillars are:

• Auto manufacturing — Nissan builds vehicles in Canton, north of Jackson, and Toyota builds Corollas in Blue Springs near Tupelo; both plants anchor wide supplier networks.
• Aerospace and defense — Stennis Space Center on the Gulf Coast is NASA's main rocket-engine test facility; Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon all have Mississippi operations.
• Shipbuilding — Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula is one of the largest U.S. military shipyards and the largest single-site employer in the state.
• Agriculture and forestry — poultry, cotton, soybeans, catfish (Mississippi is the top farm-raised catfish producer), and timber are all major.
• Gaming and tourism — casinos along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River, plus Civil War and music heritage tourism, support a meaningful service economy.
• Furniture manufacturing — northeast Mississippi (around Tupelo) is one of the largest upholstered furniture-making regions in the country.
• Healthcare and education — UMMC in Jackson is the state's largest single-site employer; the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss are major regional engines.

Jobs and wages

Mississippi labor data is published by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, with national-level numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For example, the Mississippi unemployment rate has typically run a bit above the national average, with the labor force participation rate the lowest in the country.

The Mississippi minimum wage is tied to the federal floor of $7.25 per hour. The state does not have its own higher minimum. Many large Mississippi employers — Nissan, Toyota, Ingalls Shipbuilding — pay well above that on their own.

Taxes in Mississippi

Mississippi has a flat state income tax that has been gradually lowered, with the legislature on a path toward eventual elimination contingent on revenue triggers.

The state sales tax rate is 7%, with very limited local add-ons; the combined rate is 7-8% in most of the state. Groceries are taxed at the full state rate, which is higher than in most states. State tax forms and rules live at the Mississippi Department of Revenue. You can read more about how sales tax works in our glossary.

Cost of living

Cost of living in Mississippi is the lowest or close to the lowest in the country. Jackson, Tupelo, and Hattiesburg are all affordable; rural areas are cheaper still. The federal government tracks region-specific Consumer Price Index data through the BLS Southeast region, and HUD publishes Fair Market Rents for every county at HUD User.

The Gulf Coast economy

Mississippi's three coastal counties — Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson — have a meaningfully different economy from the rest of the state. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula employs more than 11,000 people building Navy destroyers and amphibious ships. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County tests rocket engines. Casinos along the Biloxi-Gulfport beach support a service economy that draws workers from across South Mississippi and Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 reshaped the coast's housing stock and rebuilt much of its hospitality footprint.

The auto and supplier corridor

Mississippi has become a meaningful piece of the Southern auto cluster. Nissan's Canton plant builds the Frontier and Titan pickups and the Altima sedan; Toyota's Blue Springs plant builds the Corolla. Together with hundreds of supplier facilities — seats, plastics, body stampings, electronics — the auto industry employs tens of thousands across the state and has been a primary driver of Mississippi's manufacturing-led growth since the early 2000s.

Agriculture and the Delta

The Mississippi Delta — the floodplain along the Mississippi River in the western part of the state — produces large volumes of cotton, soybeans, rice, and catfish. Catfish farming, in particular, is concentrated in the Delta, where Mississippi alone produces a majority of all U.S. farm-raised catfish. Farm income, weather, and global commodity prices still meaningfully shape the rural economy.

How does the Mississippi economy fit into the national picture?

Mississippi is more concentrated in shipbuilding, autos, furniture, and agriculture than the national average, and less concentrated in finance and tech. Population growth has been roughly flat for years, and labor force participation is the lowest in the country.

A note on the numbers

Numbers in this article change every quarter — always check the latest from BEA, BLS, and the Mississippi Department of Revenue for the most current data.