Smith County, Mississippi


Smith County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 [United States census|2020 census], the population was 14,209. Its county seat is Raleigh.

History

Smith County is named for Major David Smith.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 14,209. The median age was 44.1 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 74.7% White, 21.9% Black or African American, 0.1% Native Americans in [the United States|American Indian and Alaska Native], 0.1% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.4% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,692 households in the county, of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.9% were married-couple households, 17.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 6,622 housing units, of which 14.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 84.9% were owner-occupied and 15.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.1%.

Communities

Towns

Smith County is currently a Republican stronghold, although, like most of Mississippi, it was heavily Democratic up until the 1960s. Recently, in 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump broke 80% of the vote in the county for the first time since 1972.

Education

There is one school district in the county, Smith [County School District].
The county is in the zone for Jones College.