Fastest Growing Counties in Mississippi (2026)

County
Rank
Change (2020) ↓
2026 Pop.
2020 Pop.
Stone County112.93%20,69918,329
Lafayette County28.61%60,72955,916
George County38.6%26,46224,367
Pearl River County47.98%60,69456,207
DeSoto County57.29%199,691186,129
Madison County66.73%116,605109,252
Lamar County75.27%67,78864,393
Harrison County84.58%218,402208,835
Pontotoc County94.25%32,52031,195
Jackson County103.7%148,676143,378
Prentiss County113.5%25,84724,974
Marshall County122.9%34,76233,783
Tate County132.69%28,87528,119
Rankin County142.66%161,351157,175
Union County152.61%28,53927,814
Webster County162.37%10,1399,904
Hancock County172.22%47,15446,130
Leake County182.18%21,71421,250
Itawamba County191.89%24,31623,865
Greene County201.82%13,77513,529
Yalobusha County211.61%12,63612,436
Oktibbeha County221.45%52,45351,705
Lincoln County231.13%35,23834,844
Benton County240.61%7,7167,669
Neshoba County250.34%29,10329,003
Forrest County260.29%78,44178,212
Issaquena County270%1,3251,325
Lee County28-0.08%83,25083,319
Walthall County29-0.19%13,84713,873
Wayne County30-0.23%19,76119,807
Alcorn County31-0.4%34,59234,732
Panola County32-0.54%32,99033,170
Newton County33-0.69%21,10721,254
Scott County34-0.78%27,76027,977
Jefferson Davis County35-0.81%11,18311,274
Perry County36-0.93%11,35211,459
Choctaw County37-0.95%8,1298,207
Tippah County38-1.02%21,51521,737
Tishomingo County39-1.29%18,61118,854
Simpson County40-1.56%25,48525,890
Covington County41-1.62%18,00518,301
Smith County42-1.89%13,93714,205
Winston County43-2.17%17,30217,686
Amite County44-2.34%12,40512,702
Marion County45-2.54%23,75824,376
Chickasaw County46-2.56%16,64617,083
Clay County47-2.75%18,10918,621
Monroe County48-2.81%33,17734,135
Jones County49-2.89%65,22967,173
Lowndes County50-3.22%56,89258,783
Lawrence County51-3.37%11,58011,984
Clarke County52-3.61%14,98515,547
Calhoun County53-3.68%12,73013,216
Lauderdale County54-3.73%69,96272,676
Adams County55-3.78%28,31429,427
Copiah County56-4.02%27,13428,271
Pike County57-4.47%38,39840,193
Grenada County58-4.59%20,58721,577
Attala County59-4.73%16,97417,817
Franklin County60-4.76%7,2967,661
Jasper County61-5.47%15,45716,352
Kemper County62-5.76%8,4468,962
Noxubee County63-6.13%9,59910,226
Warren County64-6.47%41,66944,550
Coahoma County65-6.68%19,80921,228
Jefferson County66-6.8%6,7527,245
Montgomery County67-7.05%9,1039,793
Carroll County68-8.75%9,0709,940
Hinds County69-8.77%206,891226,772
Humphreys County70-10.42%6,9297,735
Tunica County71-10.51%8,7119,734
Leflore County72-10.8%25,28128,341
Bolivar County73-10.89%27,48530,843
Washington County74-10.99%39,73944,648
Holmes County75-11.07%15,00816,876
Quitman County76-11.56%5,4426,153
Wilkinson County77-12.2%7,4848,524
Claiborne County78-17.37%7,5169,096
Sunflower County79-17.49%21,20725,702
Sharkey County80-21.94%2,9463,774
Tallahatchie County81-23.07%9,72912,647
Yazoo County82-25.51%19,86626,670

Mississippi Counties Growth Overview

Mississippi's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2026. Stone County leads with 2.05% annualized growth, followed by Lafayette County (1.39%) and George County (1.38%). The largest counties are Harrison County (218,402), Hinds County (206,891), and DeSoto County (199,691). Of the 82 counties in Mississippi, 27 are growing while 55 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged -0.51% annualized growth, with total population growing by -0.09% annually.

Change (2020)

-0.05

-0.025

0

0.025

0.05

0.075