Smith County is a county located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,491. Its county seat is Raleigh. Smith County is a prohibition or

dry county A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...

History

Smith County is named for Major David Smith.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Mississippi Highway 13 Mississippi Highway 13 (MS 13) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs from north to south for , serving the counties of Forrest, Pearl River, Lamar, Marion, Jefferson Davis, Simpson, Rankin, Smith, Scott, and Leake. Route description MS ...

* Mississippi Highway 18 *

Mississippi Highway 28 Mississippi Highway 28 (MS 28) is a state highway in south-central Mississippi, United States, that runs east–west from U.S. Highway 84 (US 84) west of Laurel to US 61/ MS 33 in Fayette. It travels approximately , serving Jef ...

Mississippi Highway 35 Mississippi Highway 35 (MS 35) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs north–south for , beginning at the Louisiana state line and ending at a junction with MS 315 at Sardis Dam. MS 35 serves the counties of Marion, Jefferson Davis, ...

* Mississippi Highway 37 *

Mississippi Highway 540 Mississippi Highway 540 (MS 540) is a state highway through Simpson and Smith counties in central Mississippi. First created in 1958, the highway consists of two segments- one running about from Harrisville to D'Lo and a second road ...

* Mississippi Highway 481 *

Mississippi Highway 501 Mississippi Highway 501 (MS 501) is a state highway in central Mississippi that runs north–south from MS 18 near Sylvarena, Smith County to U.S. Route 80 (US 80) in Forest, Scott County. Most of the highway runs within t ...

Mississippi Highway 902 Mississippi Highway 902 (MS 902, also known as MS 35 Connector) is a state highway in central Mississippi. The route starts at MS 481 in Burns and it travels northeastwards. It travels within the Bienville National Forest and it ends at MS 35 ...

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 Bienville National Forest is a United States National Forest in central Mississippi, named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. In descending order of land area, it lies in parts of Scott, Smith, Jasper, and Newton counties and has an area ...

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 14,209 people, 5,820 households, and 4,109 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,182 people, 6,046 households, and 4,558 families living in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 7,005 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.11% White, 23.11%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 0.19% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,046 households, out of which 35.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.60% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,840, and the median income for a family was $36,780. Males had a median income of $28,698 versus $20,154 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,752. About 12.90% of families and 16.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.50% of those under age 18 and 23.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

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

Village

* Sylvarena

Politics

References

External links

Smith County official website
{{authority control Mississippi counties 1833 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1833