Wayne County, Mississippi

For other uses, see Wayne County.

Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,779.^[1] Its county seat is Waynesboro.^[2] The county is named for General Anthony Wayne.

Wayne County
County
Wayne County Courthouse in Waynesboro
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°38′N 88°42′W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1809
Named after	Anthony Wayne
Seat	Waynesboro
Largest city	Waynesboro
Area
• Total	814 sq mi (2,110 km2)
• Land	811 sq mi (2,100 km2)
• Water	2.8 sq mi (7 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,779
• Density	24/sq mi (9.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	www.waynecounty.ms

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 814 square miles (2,110 km²), of which 811 square miles (2,100 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) (0.3%) is water.^[3] It is the fifth-largest county in Mississippi by land area.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 45
• U.S. Highway 84
• Mississippi Highway 63

Adjacent counties

• Clarke County (north)
• Choctaw County, Alabama (northeast)
• Washington County, Alabama (southeast)
• Greene County (south)
• Perry County (southwest)
• Jones County (west)
• Jasper County (northwest)

National protected area

• De Soto National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1810	1,253		—
1820	3,323		165.2%
1830	2,781		−16.3%
1840	2,120		−23.8%
1850	2,892		36.4%
1860	3,691		27.6%
1870	4,206		14.0%
1880	8,741		107.8%
1890	9,817		12.3%
1900	12,539		27.7%
1910	14,709		17.3%
1920	15,467		5.2%
1930	15,295		−1.1%
1940	16,928		10.7%
1950	17,010		0.5%
1960	16,258		−4.4%
1970	16,650		2.4%
1980	19,135		14.9%
1990	19,517		2.0%
2000	21,216		8.7%
2010	20,747		−2.2%
2020	19,779		−4.7%
2023 (est.)	19,703	[4]	−0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790–1960[6] 1900–1990[7] 1990–2000[8] 2010–2013[9]

Wayne County by race as of 2020^[10]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	11,313	57.2%
Black or African American	7,708	38.97%
Native American	31	0.16%
Asian	35	0.18%
Pacific Islander	2	0.01%
Other/Mixed	347	1.75%
Hispanic or Latino	343	1.73%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,779 people, 7,683 households, and 5,390 families residing in the county.

Communities

Cities

• Waynesboro (county seat)

Towns

• State Line (mainly located in Greene County)

Census-designated places

• Buckatunna
• Clara

Unincorporated communities

• Chicora
• Eret
• Matherville
• Eucutta
• Robinsons Junction (or Robinson's Junction)

Ghost towns

• Winchester

Politics

Wayne County was originally a Democratic stronghold, but like many parts of Mississippi it swung to the Republican Party beginning in the 1960s. The last Democrat to win the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976, and in 2024 Donald Trump earned the highest share of the votes in the county for a Republican since the lopsided 1972 election.

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,013	65.94%	3,028	33.21%	78	0.86%
2020	6,307	62.72%	3,624	36.04%	125	1.24%
2016	5,990	62.40%	3,524	36.71%	85	0.89%
2012	6,111	59.15%	4,148	40.15%	73	0.71%
2008	6,070	60.57%	3,890	38.81%	62	0.62%
2004	5,562	63.24%	3,193	36.30%	40	0.45%
2000	4,635	60.16%	2,981	38.69%	89	1.16%
1996	3,219	49.60%	2,652	40.86%	619	9.54%
1992	3,874	49.78%	3,064	39.37%	845	10.86%
1988	4,496	60.64%	2,889	38.97%	29	0.39%
1984	5,000	63.81%	2,818	35.96%	18	0.23%
1980	3,844	52.07%	3,494	47.32%	45	0.61%
1976	3,022	47.06%	3,306	51.48%	94	1.46%
1972	4,648	82.08%	975	17.22%	40	0.71%
1968	247	4.87%	739	14.56%	4,089	80.57%
1964	3,539	92.77%	276	7.23%	0	0.00%
1960	490	21.94%	707	31.66%	1,036	46.39%
1956	373	17.52%	1,493	70.13%	263	12.35%
1952	717	30.89%	1,604	69.11%	0	0.00%
1948	4	0.29%	137	9.96%	1,235	89.75%
1944	35	2.47%	1,380	97.53%	0	0.00%
1940	22	1.56%	1,388	98.44%	0	0.00%
1936	44	3.12%	1,367	96.81%	1	0.07%
1932	23	2.19%	1,023	97.43%	4	0.38%
1928	289	23.96%	917	76.04%	0	0.00%
1924	56	5.83%	905	94.17%	0	0.00%
1920	112	15.84%	547	77.37%	48	6.79%
1916	47	5.41%	787	90.67%	34	3.92%
1912	15	2.29%	569	86.87%	71	10.84%

Education

There are three school districts in the county, Wayne County School District, Wayne Central School District and Waynesboro Riverview School.^[12]

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

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Mississippi