All of the area of Mississippi except the part south of the 31^st parallel was included in the original territory of the United States. The United States claimed the territory south of the 31^st parallel as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7, 1798, from unorganized area; it included area west of Georgia to the Mississippi River, comprising the southern third of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi. The territory annexed the northern part of the same two future states when Georgia ceded its western claims in 1802 and the lands south of the 31^st parallel in 1812. Mississippi Territory was reduced by the organization of Alabama Territory in 1817. Mississippi was admitted to the Union on December 10, 1817, as the 20^th state, with generally the same boundary as the present state, although jurisdiction over the entire area was not formally accomplished until Spain relinquished its claims to the southern portion of the state in 1819.

Census data for Mississippi are available beginning with the 1800 census. The 1800 and 1810 populations do not include the area now within the state of Alabama even though that area was legally part of Mississippi Territory. The population of Mississippi Territory as legally existing for those censuses was 40,352 in 1810 and 8,550 in 1800.

Data for the legally established state of Mississippi are available beginning with the 1820 census.

American Indian Areas

Mississippi has one federally recognized American Indian reservation.

Metropolitan And Micropolitan Statistical Areas And Related Statistical Areas

Mississippi has 5 metropolitan statistical areas, 20 micropolitan statistical areas, and 3 combined statistical areas.

Counties

There are 82 counties in Mississippi.  All counties are functioning governmental units, each governed by a board of supervisors.

County Subdivisions

There are 410 county subdivisions in Mississippi known as minor civil divisions (MCDs).  The MCDs in Mississippi are supervisors’ districts, which are nonfunctioning geographic subdivisions of the county defined for the purpose of electing county officials.  Each county has five districts.

Places

Mississippi has 362 places; 298 incorporated places and 64 census designated places (CDPs).  The incorporated places consist of 110 cities, 169 towns, and 19 villages.  Tillatoba town is governmentally inactive.  Cities have a minimum population threshold of 2,000, towns require a population between 300 and 1,999, and villages require a population between 50 and 299.  Villages can no longer be created except in special circumstances, but existing villages with at least 50 people may maintain their status as a village.

Census Tracts/Block Groups/Blocks

Mississippi has 664 census tracts, 2,164 block groups, and 171,778 census blocks.

Congressional Districts

For the 111^th Congress (January 2009 – January 2011), Mississippi had four congressional districts.  For the 113^th Congress (January 2013-January 2015), Mississippi continues to have four congressional districts as a result of reapportionment based on the 2010 Census.

School Districts

Mississippi has 149 unified school districts.

State Legislative Districts

There are 52 state senate districts and 122 state house districts in Mississippi.

Urban Areas

Mississippi has 69 urban areas; 5 urbanized areas and 64 urban clusters.

Zip Code Tabulation Areas

There are 424 ZIP Code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in Mississippi.

¹  Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1923
²  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, recomputation for historical county level data which relied upon aggregate county level population data with an estimated county centroid resulting in a possible error of up to one mile.
³  Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Centers of Population for States and Counties, 1974
⁴  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group/enumeration area data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
⁵  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
⁶  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, computation from national block-level data
*  The north latitude for Mississippi that appears in the source material appears to be an error but is displayed here as in the report. The description accompanying the center of population in the source material states it is 3.5 miles SE of Sallis, Attala County, Mississippi which does not correspond to the north latitude. We believe the correct north latitude is 32° 59′ 52″.