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Forrest County, Mississippi

Coordinates: 31°11′N 89°16′W / 31.19°N 89.26°W / 31.19; -89.26
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Forrest County
County
Hattiesburg Municipal Court.
Hattiesburg Municipal Court.
Map of Mississippi highlighting Forrest County
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Map of the United States highlighting Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°11′N 89°16′W / 31.19°N 89.26°W / 31.19; -89.26
Country United States
State Mississippi
Founded1908[1]
Named forNathan B. Forrest
SeatHattiesburg
Largest cityHattiesburg
Area
 • Total
470 sq mi (1,200 km2)
 • Land466 sq mi (1,210 km2)
 • Water3.9 sq mi (10 km2)  0.8%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
78,158
 • Estimate 
(2023)
78,208 Increase
 • Density170/sq mi (64/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district4th
Websiteforrestcountyms.us

Forrest County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,158.[2] Its county seat and largest city is Hattiesburg.[3] The county was created from Perry County in 1908 and named in honor of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general in the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Forrest County is part of the Hattiesburg, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 470 square miles (1,200 km2), of which 466 square miles (1,210 km2) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km2) (0.8%) is water.[4]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
191020,722—
192021,2382.5%
193030,11541.8%
194034,90115.9%
195045,05529.1%
196052,72217.0%
197057,8499.7%
198066,01814.1%
199068,3143.5%
200072,6046.3%
201074,9343.2%
202078,1584.3%
2023 (est.)78,208[5]0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[10]
Forrest County racial composition as of 2020[11]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 43,121 55.17%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 28,151 36.02%
Native American 177 0.23%
Asian 789 1.01%
Pacific Islander 29 0.04%
Other/Mixed 2,633 3.37%
Hispanic or Latino 3,258 4.17%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 78,158 people, 27,340 households, and 15,633 families residing in the county.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Politics

Forrest County has not supported the National Democratic ticket for president since 1944, when it voted overwhelmingly for Franklin Roosevelt in his landslide record fourth term victory. That is the longest such streak of any county in the state. Only twice since then has it not voted Republican, in 1948 when it backed the States Rights ticket of Strom Thurmond and then-Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright, and in 1968 when it voted for George Wallace and Curtis LeMay.

United States presidential election results for Forrest County, Mississippi[12]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 17,290 54.62% 13,755 43.45% 609 1.92%
2016 15,461 55.09% 11,716 41.75% 887 3.16%
2012 16,574 54.82% 13,272 43.89% 390 1.29%
2008 15,296 56.27% 11,622 42.75% 266 0.98%
2004 16,318 61.01% 10,220 38.21% 207 0.77%
2000 13,281 59.69% 8,500 38.20% 470 2.11%
1996 11,278 55.17% 7,965 38.96% 1,199 5.87%
1992 12,432 54.64% 8,333 36.62% 1,988 8.74%
1988 14,249 66.84% 6,953 32.62% 116 0.54%
1984 15,719 69.63% 6,786 30.06% 71 0.31%
1980 12,656 59.34% 8,274 38.80% 397 1.86%
1976 10,770 56.33% 7,914 41.39% 436 2.28%
1972 14,418 80.56% 2,933 16.39% 547 3.06%
1968 3,294 20.30% 2,957 18.22% 9,975 61.48%
1964 9,291 89.17% 1,128 10.83% 0 0.00%
1960 3,412 39.53% 2,068 23.96% 3,152 36.52%
1956 2,256 37.52% 1,928 32.06% 1,829 30.42%
1952 4,480 60.41% 2,936 39.59% 0 0.00%
1948 167 2.84% 406 6.90% 5,307 90.26%
1944 436 10.67% 3,649 89.33% 0 0.00%
1940 228 6.88% 3,075 92.82% 10 0.30%
1936 234 6.09% 3,596 93.62% 11 0.29%
1932 182 7.98% 2,068 90.70% 30 1.32%
1928 1,447 44.66% 1,793 55.34% 0 0.00%
1924 156 7.31% 1,826 85.57% 152 7.12%
1920 140 10.36% 1,146 84.76% 66 4.88%
1916 54 4.28% 1,146 90.81% 62 4.91%
1912 16 1.49% 886 82.57% 171 15.94%

Education

There are three school districts in the county: Forrest County Schools, Hattiesburg Public School District, and Petal School District.[13]

Forrest County Agricultural High School is in the county.

The county is in the zone of Pearl River Community College.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "History". Forrest County, Mississippi. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Forrest County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  10. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  11. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  13. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Forrest County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 27, 2024. - Text list
  14. ^ "2014-2016 Catalog" (PDF). Pearl River Community College. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2022.


31°11′N 89°16′W / 31.19°N 89.26°W / 31.19; -89.26

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