This article was originally published by Mississippi Today on July 15, 2025 and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. Researcher and policy analyst Jake McGraw of Rethink Mississippi compiled this list of frequently asked questions about the crisis.
What is brain drain?
Brain drain refers to the departure of educated or skilled workers from an area, often in pursuit of higher-paying jobs or better living conditions. It is a pithy term for what economists call human capital flight.
How many people is Mississippi losing?
From 2010 to 2024, 80,000 more residents left the state than moved in, according to Census Bureau estimates. Put together, the net loss is greater than the population of Gulfport, the state’s second-largest city. Mississippi had the sixth-worst net migration rate in the country during that time.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic put the brakes on the exodus. In the three years from 2022 to 2024, 5,000 more people moved into Mississippi than moved away – the first period of inbound migration since the 1990s.
Despite the uptick in net migration, Mississippi’s total population has fallen faster since the pandemic. The state’s birth rate has declined in line with national trends, while deaths from Covid and other causes have spiked since 2020. In the past four years, 16,000 more Mississippians have died than been born. Mississippi’s 2024 population stood at 2,943,045 — down nearly 45,000 from its peak in 2014.
How does migration vary by education?
Among Mississippi natives ages 22 to 50, almost half of all four-year graduates have left the state, compared to just 30% without a four-year degree. For every Mississippian without a four-year degree who moves away, a person of a similar educational level moves in. But only two university graduates arrive for every three from Mississippi who leave, resulting in a net loss of 57,000 four-year graduates currently living in other states.
How does migration vary by age, race, and sex?
Every age group younger than 50 departs Mississippi in greater numbers than they arrive. Losses are greatest in the years when people are beginning their careers. From 2010 to 2020, Mississippi lost one-tenth of its 25-to-34-year-old population – about 40,000 people – through net outmigration.
Black people move away at higher rates in their 20s and 30s. Net outmigration is also higher among men in their prime working years.
Where do Mississippians go?
When Mississippians leave, they typically relocate to large metropolitan areas within driving distance of home. The top destinations are Houston, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta and New Orleans. Texas added the most residents in exchange with Mississippi: 30,000 net movers between 2012 and 2022.
How does Mississippi compare to other states?
Mississippi ranks near the bottom nationally: 47th in net migration of college graduates, 45th in total net migration since 2010, and 48th in population change since 2010. Louisiana is the only other Southern state in similarly poor standing. Every other state in the Southeast has experienced net in-migration, brain gain, and population growth — including Arkansas and Alabama, the two states most similar to Mississippi.
What is the economic cost of the brain drain?
Mississippi’s state economist estimated that the brain drain of university graduates costs the state’s economy an average of $181 million per year. Extended over a decade, retaining 1,200 additional graduates per year would grow the state economy by a total of $8 billion — enough to double Mississippi’s economic growth rate.
Mississippi taxpayers invest approximately $170,000 in the education of a child who passes through the state’s K-12 and public university system. The brain drain has cost Mississippi 57,000 four-year graduates, representing approximately $7 billion in educational expenditures.
What causes the brain drain? Is it mostly about jobs?
People choose where to live based on a variety of individual factors. There is no doubt that Mississippi’s economy is a major driver. Mississippians with bachelor’s degrees earn 23% less than the national average. Those with graduate degrees earn 27% less. People born in Mississippi who leave are rewarded with incomes almost $19,000 higher than graduates who stay.
Mississippi also has fewer jobs in fields that require a bachelor’s degree. Just 24% of jobs in Mississippi meet the qualifications of four-year graduates — the lowest in the country. Losses are greatest in computer science and IT: for every 10 Mississippi natives working in tech, eight have left the state.
What role do Jackson’s struggles play?
The Jackson region accounts for one-fifth of the state’s population but is losing population. The city of Jackson has lost almost one-third of its population since 1980. From 2020 to 2024, Jackson lost more than 12,000 residents, the largest per capita drop among cities with more than 100,000 residents. From July 2023 to June 2024, the Jackson metro ranked last in the country in net migration among major metropolitan areas.
Where are the bright spots?
In 2020, Mississippi’s colleges and universities ranked 29th nationally in bachelor’s degrees granted per capita — up 14 spots from 43rd in 2010, the largest jump of any state. Mississippi has the second-lowest home prices in the country. And more than 1 million people born in Mississippi now live in other states — if just 1% moved back each year, the state could reverse its net outmigration.
What can we do to stop the brain drain?
The available data tell us how many people are leaving, who they are, and where they are going. They do not tell us why, or what we can do about it. That’s why Mississippi Today, the University of Mississippi’s Center for Population Studies, and Working Together Mississippi’s Rethink Mississippi initiative have partnered to create a survey to identify the most important things people look for when they choose where to live.
For detailed data sources and methodology, see the full FAQ at Mississippi Today.
