Mississippi Population 2016
Situated in the south west of America, 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 this is the 31st most populous state and its population density sees Mississippi ranked 32nd in the United States.
The current 2013 population of Mississippi is estimated at 2,993,780, which is up slightly from the 2010 Census placing the population at 2,967,297. Mississippi currently has a population growth rate of 0.30%, which is fairly slow and ranks at 40th in the nation.
Mississippi Population 2014
The last nationwide US Census was held across the country in 2010 and figures revealed at the time that 2,967,297 people resided in Mississippi. This represented a rise of 4.3% from the numbers declared at the Census in 2000. The population has grown only modestly since then and it is now estimated to be just 2.99 million. If we see similar rises, then the number of people living in Mississippi in 2014 will pass the magic number of 3 million.
Mississippi has a very widely spread population with a density of just 63.5 people per square mile, which ranks 32nd in the country. For many generations, people have been leaving the rural areas of the United States and concentrating in urban areas, with only 1 in 5 people in the country classified as rural. Mississippi is a sharp contrast, however, as 51.2% still live in rural areas, which is the 4th largest rural population in the country. There is only one city in the state with a population of over 100,000, and that's Jackson. Only two other cities currently have a population of at least 50,000: Hattiesburg and Gulfport.
Mississippi Population History
Like most states in the US, Mississippi enjoyed a population explosion through the 19th century. Way back 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.
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 continued to leave the Mississippi population in 2013 achingly close to the 3 million mark.
Up until the 1930’s, black Americans made up the majority of citizens in Mississippi and although that picture has changed, there is still a relatively large black community here. In 2010, Mississippi had the highest proportion of African Americans in the United States, and the population has started to grow recently due to a younger population than white residents.
At the 2010 Census, the racial markup of the state was:
- 59.1% White (58% non-Hispanic)
- 37% African American or Black
- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
- 0.9% Asian American
- 1.1% Multiracial
- 1.4% Other
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 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 3.09 million by 2020.
Population Data via US Census