Harrison County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 sove ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 208,621, making it the second-most populous county in Mississippi. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

s are Biloxi and Gulfport. The county is named after U.S. President

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

. Harrison County is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. The county was severely damaged from both

Hurricane Camille Hurricane Camille was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The most intense storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille originated as a tropical depression ...

on August 17, 1969, and

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

on August 29, 2005, causing catastrophic effects.

Geography

According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (41%) are covered by water. The Tchoutacabouffa River has its mouth at

Biloxi Bay Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated pop ...

just north of the city of Biloxi.

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolit ...

, is the chief port in the state, with access to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

through a ship channel. This is the second-largest county in Mississippi by total area.

Wildlife

A single pond in the county contains the critically endangered dusky gopher frog.

Major highways

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

* Interstate 110 *

U.S. Highway 49 U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is ...

U.S. Highway 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

* Mississippi Highway 15 *

Mississippi Highway 53 Mississippi Highway 53 (MS 53) is a state highway in Mississippi. The highway starts at U.S. Highway 49 (US 49) in Gulfport and travels northwestward to MS 603 in Hancock County. The road then travels north to Poplarville, meeting Intersta ...

Mississippi Highway 67 Mississippi Highway 67 (MS 67) is a state highway in Mississippi. It is an expressway and generally runs northwest for from the Interstate 10, Interstate 110, and Mississippi Highway 15 cloverleaf interchange in D'Iberville, to a trumpet int ...

Mississippi Highway 605 Mississippi Highway 605 (MS 605) is a state highway in Mississippi. It is an expressway and generally runs north from U.S. Highway 90 in Gulfport, to an intersection with East Wortham Road in Saucier, after crossing over Mississippi Highway 67 ...

Mississippi Highway 43 Mississippi Highway 43 (MS 43) is a state highway in Mississippi that generally runs north–south in three segments: the first from US 90 near Bay St. Louis to MS 13 south of Columbia, resuming at MS 13 in southern Jefferson Davis County ...

Adjacent counties and parishes

* Stone County (north) * Jackson County (east) * Hancock County (west) * St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (southwest)

National protected areas

* De Soto National Forest (part) *

Gulf Islands National Seashore Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven i ...

(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 ...

, 208,621 people, 74,628 households, and 50,074 families were residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, 187,479 people, 71,538 households, and 48,574 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 326 people per square mile (126/km²). The 79,636 housing units had an average density of 137 per square mile (53/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 73.15% White, 21.09% African American, 0.45% Native American, 2.60% Asian, 0.99% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. About 2.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latinos of any race. Of the 71,538 households, 33.5% had children under 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were not families. About 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.07. In the county, the age distribution was 26.0% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 97.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,624, and for a family was $41,445. Males had a median income of $29,867 versus $22,030 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,024. About 14.6% of the population and 11.6% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

; 20.7% of those under 18 and 11.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Harrison County has the sixth-highest per capita income in Mississippi.

Corrections system

Harrison County has been studied by CNN and other media, which have reported on the beatings of inmates in the Harrison County Jail in Gulfport. Inmate Jessie Lee Williams Jr. died while in custody on February 4, 2006. In 2006 and 2007, six Harrison County Sheriff's Department deputies pleaded guilty to crimes related to the abuse of inmates at the jail. Sheriff Melvin Brisolara-R was elected in 2008, for Harrison County.

Communities

Cities

* Biloxi (county seat) * D'Iberville * Gulfport (county seat) *

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

Pass Christian Pass Christian (), nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,307 at the 2019 census. History Pre-European history ...

Census-designated places

* DeLisle * Henderson Point * Lyman *

Saucier A saucier () or sauté chef is a position in the classical brigade style kitchen. It can be translated into English as ''sauce chef''. In addition to preparing sauces, the saucier prepares stews, hot hors d'œuvres, and sautés food to order ...

Unincorporated communities

* Cuevas * Howison * Lizana * Mississippi City * Wool Market

Politics

Since 1964, Harrison County has voted overwhelmingly Republican. The last Democrat to receive over 40% of the vote was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Biloxi Public School District *

Gulfport School District The Gulfport School District is a public school district based in Gulfport, Mississippi ( USA). Schools High school *Gulfport High School Middle schools *Bayou View Middle School **2008 National Blue Ribbon School *Gulfport Central Middle Sc ...

* Harrison County School District *

Long Beach School District The Long Beach School District is a public school district based in Long Beach, Mississippi (United States). Schools * Long Beach High School **2007 National Blue Ribbon School *Long Beach Middle Schoo*Harper McCaughan Elementary Schoo*Thomas ...

* Pass Christian Public School District

References

External links

Official county site

Harrison County Sheriff

Harrison County Courthouse Pictures
{{coord, 30.42, -89.09, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 Mississippi counties Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area 1841 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1841