Abstract Objectives Working outside of the home is associated with a shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). It is unclear if this relationship exists in rural populations where the workplace environments may differ. Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P) is an exclusively rural region with limited access to medical services, which varies greatly across the 15 U.P. counties. According to Michigan Vital Statistics, initiation of breastfeeding across the 15 U.P. counties is low, (range 13–82%, median 44%). We explored the relationship between maternal employment outside the home and a) EBF at 6 months and b) duration of EBF in the U.P. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of a cross sectional study conducted in 2017–18. Mothers of children <5 years old residing in the U.P were eligible to complete a self-administered survey. The outcomes of interest were EBF at 6 months (Y/N) and duration of EBF (months). The primary exposure was working outside the home (Y/N) during the baby's first year. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between working outside the home and EBF at 6 months (SAS v. 9.4). An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare the duration of EBF among mothers who worked outside the home in the first year to those who did not. Confounders were retained in each fully-adjusted model if the odds ratio (logistic model) or coefficient of the primary exposure (ANCOVA) changed by >10% using forward selection. Results After adjustment for mother's education, age, and delivery distance, in the logistic model, mothers who went back to work are less likely to EBF for ≥6 months compared to mothers who did not. These results were not statistically significant (OR = .718, 95% CI: 0.39, 1.33). Adjusting for these and household income, and birth class attendance, in the ANCOVA model, there is a 0.39 month increase in EBF duration for every additional month she stays home (p-value = 0.03). Conclusions This data shows that in the U.P., a rural region with limited lactation services, working outside the home in the first year after birth negatively impacts length of EBF. Although this is a similar trend as seen in urban populations, the reasons for the relationship may differ in rural areas suggesting the need for place-based policy for breastfeeding support in workplaces. Funding Sources MTU Pavlis SURF Grant, Portage Health Foundation.