Mississippi Population 2024

2,940,452

The last nationwide US Census figures represented a rise of 4.3% from the numbers declared at the Census in 2000. Since then, the population has grown only modestly, and it is now estimated to be just 2.99 million. If similar increases continue to occur, then the number of people living in Mississippi may soon surpass 3 million.

At the time of the Census, the population was recorded as 2,967,297. Mississippi currently has a population growth rate of 0.30%, relatively slow, and ranks at 40th in the nation.

On Novemver 3, 2020, Mississippi residents voted on a new state flag, the New Magnolia. The new flag replaced Mississippi's state flag that featured the Confederate flag.

Mississippi Area and Population Density

Situated in the southeast U.S., Mississippi is the 32nd largest state in the country with an area that covers 48,430 square miles. Population figures are consistent with its size, and it is the 31st most populous state. Its population density ranks 32nd in the United States.

Mississippi has a very widely spread population with a density of just 63.2 people per square mile, which ranks 32nd in the country. For many generations, people have been leaving the United States' rural areas and concentrating in urban areas, with only 1 in 5 people in the country classified as rural. However, Mississippi is a sharp contrast, as 51.2% still live in rural areas, which is the country's 4th largest rural population.

There is only one city in the state with over 100,000, and that's Jackson. Only two other cities currently have a population of at least 50,000: Hattiesburg and Gulfport. The most populated counties are Hinds (239,479 - but has been losing population since 2010), Harrison (205,027), and DeSoto (178,751) counties. Both Harrison and DeSoto counties have a substantial growth rate of over 9% in each county.

Mississippi Gender and Religion Statistics

The median age of the Mississippi population is approximately 36.7 years of age. The state's gender ratio is split at 51.5% female and 48.5% male.

In terms of preferred religions across the state, 83% of the population is affiliated with a Christian based faith, 2% affiliate with a non-Christian based faith, and 14% have no affiliation with any religion.

Mississippi Boundary, Census and Statehood History

Most present-day Mississippi was part of Georgia until the south-central portions of Mississippi and Alabama were established as Mississippi Territory, authorized by Congress in 1798 and agreed to by Georgia in 1802. In 1804, the Territory was expanded to include the northern parts of the two future States. The Gulf Coast portions were added in 1812, although still in dispute with Spain until 1819. Mississippi was admitted as a State on December 10, 1817 with essentially its present boundaries.

Census coverage of present-day Mississippi began in 1800 in the southwestern section close to the Mississippi River. The populations shown for 1800 and 1810 exclude counties now in Alabama. The Census did not fully cover the central and northern portions until 1840.

Mississippi Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Mississippi was:

  • White: 57.36%
  • Black or African American: 37.53%
  • Two or more races: 2.36%
  • Other race: 1.28%
  • Asian: 0.98%
  • Native American: 0.45%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.04%

Mississippi Population History

Like most states in the US, Mississippi enjoyed a population explosion through the 19th century. In 1800, numbers were recorded at 7,600 but just ten years later, those figures had increased by over 300% to 31,306. That was by far the biggest population spike in the state’s history but further significant growth saw the figures rise to 606,526 by 1850.

Mississippi Population Growth

By the start of the 20th century, the population of Mississippi had comfortably exceeded 1.5 million, and while growth has slowed in the modern era, the overall picture remains one of sustained growth. By 1930, numbers had already hit 2 million and continued expansion throughout the latter half of the 20th century has left the Mississippi population in 2016 close to the 3 million mark.

Mississippi Population Projections

Over the years, the big picture is one of population growth, but percentage rises on a decade by decade basis have fluctuated to a great extent and have therefore been a little hard to predict. Mississippi also has a fairly slow growth rate. However, by the time of the next Census in 2020, numbers should have comfortably exceeded 3 million and the only question is how far can they rise beyond that milestone? According to current projections, the Mississippi population will reach 3.15 million by 2020.

Up until the 1930s, black Americans made up the majority of citizens in Mississippi, and although that picture has changed, there is still a relatively large black community in the state. In 2010, Mississippi had the highest proportion of African Americans in the United States.

People of Scots-Irish, Scottish and English ancestry are widespread throughout Mississippi, and people with these ancestries are thought to be higher than reported. One historian estimates at least 20% of the state's population is of English ancestry alone.

Interestingly, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 between the U.S. Government and the Choctaw allowed these people to sell their land and agree to be removed to a reservation in current-day Oklahoma, although Article 14 of the treaty allowed those who wanted to remain to become U.S. citizens. Today, about 9,500 Choctaw live in Leake, Jones, Newton and Neshoba counties in Mississippi.

Mississippi also has one of the highest rates of increase of its mixed-race population, which increased 70% from 2000 to 2012, even though the population of the state itself has not increased much.

Mississippi Growth Rate

Mississippi Population Rank

Mississippi Population 2024

Mississippi Facts

Population

20K

40K

60K

80K

100K

120K

140K

160K

180K

200K

The state of Mississippi has many counties, and when looking at the population of each county, data shows that there have been more declines across the state than there have been population increases when tracking by county. Between the 2010 Census and data taken in 2015, there have been three counties that have shown significant population growth. This includes the northern county of Lafayette, which posted the highest growth of 11.76%, central Madison County with 8.24% and southern Lamar County at 8.09%. Other counties that showed growth were mostly located in the southernmost and northernmost areas of the state.

As far as population declines, almost every county along the western border of Mississippi saw declining populations. Wilson County, located in the southwestern corner, had the most significant decline at 7.48%. Other counties that showed decreased growth between 2010 and 2015 include Washington County at 5.77%, Sunflower County at 6.92%, and Holmes County at 5.46%.

Mississippi Population by County

Population by Race

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White1,701,98957.36%
Black or African American1,113,41437.53%
Two or more races69,9892.36%
Other race38,0531.28%
Asian29,0920.98%
Native American13,3570.45%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander1,1290.04%

White

Black or African American

Two or more races

Other race

Asian

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Mississippi Population by Race

Mississippi Population Pyramid 2024

Mississippi Median Age

37.8

Total

36.5

Male

39

Female

Mississippi Adults

There are 2,260,969 adults, (472,931 of whom are seniors) in Mississippi.

Mississippi Age Dependency

65.9

Age Dependency Ratio

26.4

Old Age Dependency Ratio

39.5

Child Dependency Ratio

Mississippi Sex Ratio

Female1,522,76851.32%
Male1,444,25548.68%

Mississippi Population by Age

Mississippi Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All1,108,6702.668.931.1
Married493,5733.285.114.9
Non Family376,0951.257.942.1
Female187,1703.650.349.7
Male51,8323.3661.938.1

3.23

Average Family Size

2.6

Average Household Size

68.9%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Mississippi Households and Families

Male

Female

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Mississippi Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Mississippi Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 92.73%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 43.7%.

Mississippi Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

$36,241

Average Earnings

$43,321

Average Male

$30,434

Average Female

Mississippi Earnings by Educational Attainment

Mississippi Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Mississippi Language

96.08% of Mississippi residents speak only English, while 3.92% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 2.38% of the population.

Mississippi Language

Mississippi Poverty by Race

rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
Black1,069,373325,54130.44%
White1,621,081189,74711.7%
Hispanic90,67422,73425.07%
Multiple67,58213,79120.41%
Other36,3239,47726.09%
Native12,8374,31533.61%
Asian28,3213,99914.12%
Islander1,02521821.27%

19.38%

Overall Poverty Rate

17.24%

Male Poverty Rate

21.38%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Mississippi

The race most likely to be in poverty in Mississippi is Native, with 33.61% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Mississippi is White, with 11.7% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 4.5%. Among those working part-time, it was 21.14%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 28.27%.

Mississippi Poverty

rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade31.42%
High School19.29%
Some College12.99%
Bachelors or Greater5.2%

Mississippi Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed42.61%
Male Unemployed33.27%
Female Employed10.6%
Male Employed6.37%

Mississippi Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Mississippi Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Mississippi Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

44.6%

Overall Marriage Rate

46.7%

Male Marriage Rate

42.5%

Female Marriage Rate

Mississippi Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Mississippi Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

Mississippi Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Mississippi Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

159,142

Number of Veterans

143,424

Male Veterans

15,718

Female Veterans

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Mississippi Veterans by War

count

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Mississippi Veterans by Age

count

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Mississippi Veterans by Race

Mississippi Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

8.01%

Veteran Poverty Rate

33.09%

Veteran Disability Rate

Mississippi Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

57.4%

Labor Force Participation

52.9%

Employment Rate

6.8%

Unemployment Rate

Mississippi Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Mississippi Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Mississippi Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

71.64%

Born in Mississippi

97.69%

Native Born

2.31%

Foreign Born

1.32%

Non Citizen

0.99%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

97.69% of Mississippi residents were born in the United States, with 71.64% having been born in Mississippi. 1.32% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Mississippi Place of Birth

  1. State Data Center of Mississippi
  2. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  3. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  4. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  5. Census QuickFacts
  6. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

Sources