Simpson County, Mississippi

Simpson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Its western border is formed by the Pearl River, an important transportation route in the 19th century. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,949.^[1] The county seat is Mendenhall.^[2] The county is named for Josiah Simpson (1787-1817),^[3] a territorial judge who also served as a delegate to Mississippi's Constitutional Convention.^[4] Simpson County is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area.

Simpson County
County
Simpson County courthouse in Mendenhall
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°55′N 89°55′W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1824
Named after	Josiah Simpson
Seat	Mendenhall
Largest city	Magee
Area
• Total	590 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Land	589 sq mi (1,530 km2)
• Water	1.3 sq mi (3 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,949
• Estimate  (2023)	25,715
• Density	44/sq mi (17/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 590 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 589 square miles (1,530 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 49
• Mississippi Highway 13
• Mississippi Highway 28
• Mississippi Highway 43
• Mississippi Highway 149

Adjacent counties

• Rankin County (north)
• Smith County (east)
• Covington County (southeast)
• Jefferson Davis County (south)
• Lawrence County (southwest)
• Copiah County (west)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	2,680		—
1840	3,380		26.1%
1850	4,734		40.1%
1860	6,080		28.4%
1870	5,718		−6.0%
1880	8,008		40.0%
1890	10,138		26.6%
1900	12,800		26.3%
1910	17,201		34.4%
1920	18,109		5.3%
1930	20,897		15.4%
1940	22,024		5.4%
1950	21,819		−0.9%
1960	20,454		−6.3%
1970	19,947		−2.5%
1980	23,441		17.5%
1990	23,953		2.2%
2000	27,639		15.4%
2010	27,503		−0.5%
2020	25,949		−5.7%
2023 (est.)	25,715	[6]	−0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9] 1990-2000[10] 2010-2013[11]

Simpson County racial composition as of 2020^[12]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	15,928	61.38%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	8,803	33.92%
Native American	36	0.14%
Asian	84	0.32%
Pacific Islander	2	0.01%
Other/Mixed	710	2.74%
Hispanic or Latino	386	1.49%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,949 people, 9,486 households, and 6,617 families residing in the county.

Communities

Cities

• Magee
• Mendenhall

Town

• D'Lo

Village

• Braxton

Unincorporated communities

• Harrisville
• Merry Hell
• Pinola
• Sanatorium

Ghost town

• Westville

Politics

A nearly unanimously Democratic county in the days of the Solid South, Simpson County has since swung decisively into the Republican column. It has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1956, nor any third-party candidates since 1968.

United States presidential election results for Simpson County, Mississippi^[13]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	7,552	68.07%	3,479	31.36%	63	0.57%
2020	7,635	64.62%	4,037	34.17%	143	1.21%
2016	7,393	64.74%	3,874	33.93%	152	1.33%
2012	7,424	60.61%	4,723	38.56%	102	0.83%
2008	7,641	60.59%	4,817	38.20%	152	1.21%
2004	7,138	68.15%	3,272	31.24%	64	0.61%
2000	6,254	65.32%	3,227	33.71%	93	0.97%
1996	4,455	56.56%	2,851	36.19%	571	7.25%
1992	5,358	57.45%	3,213	34.45%	755	8.10%
1988	6,151	66.69%	3,016	32.70%	56	0.61%
1984	5,983	67.04%	2,894	32.43%	47	0.53%
1980	5,190	55.60%	4,015	43.01%	129	1.38%
1976	4,291	53.91%	3,600	45.23%	69	0.87%
1972	5,669	85.87%	871	13.19%	62	0.94%
1968	875	12.47%	1,079	15.37%	5,064	72.16%
1964	4,949	94.81%	271	5.19%	0	0.00%
1960	606	18.89%	1,034	32.23%	1,568	48.88%
1956	467	14.64%	2,140	67.11%	582	18.25%
1952	878	24.09%	2,767	75.91%	0	0.00%
1948	59	2.29%	171	6.65%	2,342	91.06%
1944	78	3.06%	2,470	96.94%	0	0.00%
1940	40	1.70%	2,316	98.26%	1	0.04%
1936	48	1.92%	2,445	98.04%	1	0.04%
1932	47	2.36%	1,941	97.59%	1	0.05%
1928	231	10.88%	1,893	89.12%	0	0.00%
1924	100	6.15%	1,518	93.42%	7	0.43%
1920	109	10.63%	902	88.00%	14	1.37%
1916	34	3.38%	966	96.02%	6	0.60%
1912	19	2.79%	606	88.86%	57	8.36%

Education

Simpson County School District is the local school district.^[14]

It is in the district of Copiah–Lincoln Community College, and has been since 1934.^[15] The district maintains the Simpson County Center.^[16]

See also

• Dry counties
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Simpson County, Mississippi