Smith County, Mississippi

Smith County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,209.^[1] Its county seat is Raleigh.^[2]

Smith County
County
Smith County courthouse in Raleigh
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°01′N 89°30′W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1833
Named after	David Smith
Seat	Raleigh
Largest town	Taylorsville
Area
• Total	637 sq mi (1,650 km2)
• Land	636 sq mi (1,650 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (3 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	14,209
• Estimate  (2023)	14,099
• Density	22/sq mi (8.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.smithcountyms.gov

History

Smith County is named for Major David Smith.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 637 square miles (1,650 km²), of which 636 square miles (1,650 km²) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[3]

Major highways

• Mississippi Highway 13
• Mississippi Highway 18
• Mississippi Highway 28
• Mississippi Highway 35
• Mississippi Highway 37
• Mississippi Highway 540
• Mississippi Highway 481
• Mississippi Highway 501
• Mississippi Highway 902

Adjacent counties

• Scott County (north)
• Jasper County (east)
• Jones County (southeast)
• Covington County (south)
• Simpson County (west)
• Rankin County (northwest)

National protected area

• Bienville National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	1,961		—
1850	4,071		107.6%
1860	7,638		87.6%
1870	7,126		−6.7%
1880	8,088		13.5%
1890	10,635		31.5%
1900	13,055		22.8%
1910	16,603		27.2%
1920	16,178		−2.6%
1930	18,405		13.8%
1940	19,403		5.4%
1950	16,740		−13.7%
1960	14,303		−14.6%
1970	13,561		−5.2%
1980	15,077		11.2%
1990	14,798		−1.9%
2000	16,182		9.4%
2010	16,491		1.9%
2020	14,209		−13.8%
2023 (est.)	14,099	[4]	−0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[9]

Smith County racial composition as of 2020^[10]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	10,582	74.47%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	3,111	21.89%
Native American	20	0.14%
Asian	19	0.13%
Other/mtixed	279	1.96%
Hispanic or Latino	198	1.39%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,209 people, 5,820 households, and 4,109 families residing in the county.

Communities

Towns

• Mize
• Raleigh (county seat)
• Taylorsville
• Polkville

Village

• Sylvarena

Politics

Smith County is currently a Republican stronghold, although, like most of Mississippi, it was heavily Democratic up until the 1960s. Recently, in 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump broke 80% of the vote in the county for the first time since 1972.

United States presidential election results for Smith County, Mississippi^[11]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,146	80.07%	1,486	19.36%	44	0.57%
2020	6,458	77.55%	1,791	21.51%	78	0.94%
2016	5,928	77.72%	1,617	21.20%	82	1.08%
2012	6,049	74.69%	1,979	24.44%	71	0.88%
2008	6,265	75.44%	1,968	23.70%	72	0.87%
2004	5,577	78.33%	1,496	21.01%	47	0.66%
2000	4,838	74.11%	1,620	24.82%	70	1.07%
1996	3,371	58.47%	1,858	32.23%	536	9.30%
1992	4,106	60.49%	1,968	28.99%	714	10.52%
1988	4,573	72.76%	1,660	26.41%	52	0.83%
1984	5,116	76.24%	1,573	23.44%	21	0.31%
1980	3,772	59.50%	2,474	39.02%	94	1.48%
1976	3,147	54.75%	2,434	42.35%	167	2.91%
1972	4,419	92.35%	329	6.88%	37	0.77%
1968	437	8.48%	352	6.83%	4,367	84.70%
1964	4,045	94.44%	238	5.56%	0	0.00%
1960	353	11.98%	1,568	53.22%	1,025	34.79%
1956	277	10.89%	2,055	80.81%	211	8.30%
1952	738	24.39%	2,288	75.61%	0	0.00%
1948	33	1.48%	295	13.23%	1,901	85.28%
1944	165	6.30%	2,456	93.70%	0	0.00%
1940	27	1.46%	1,826	98.49%	1	0.05%
1936	17	1.00%	1,676	98.94%	1	0.06%
1932	17	1.07%	1,576	98.81%	2	0.13%
1928	419	22.42%	1,450	77.58%	0	0.00%
1924	49	4.22%	1,081	93.11%	31	2.67%
1920	265	21.10%	968	77.07%	23	1.83%
1916	30	2.28%	1,271	96.51%	16	1.21%
1912	12	1.31%	854	93.13%	51	5.56%

Education

There is one school district in the county, Smith County School District.^[12]

The county is in the zone for Jones College.^[13]

See also

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