Stone County, Mississippi
Stone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,333. Its county seat is Wiggins. Stone County was formed from the northern portion of Harrison County on June 5, 1916. The county was named for John M. Stone, who served as Governor of Mississippi from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. Stone County is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1918, the Stone County Courthouse was completed at a cost of $29,515.18, and is still in use today, after several renovations.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 49
- 20px Mississippi Highway 15
- 20px Mississippi Highway 26
- 20px Mississippi Highway 29
Adjacent counties
National protected areas
Demographics
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White | 13,822 | 75.39% |
| Black or African American | 3,239 | 17.67% |
| Native American | 79 | 0.43% |
| Asian | 89 | 0.49% |
| Pacific Islander | 9 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 651 | 3.55% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 444 | 2.42% |
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 18,333. The median age was 39.4 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 108.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 108.7 males age 18 and over.The racial makeup of the county was 76.0% White, 17.7% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,572 households in the county, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.2% were married-couple households, 17.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 7,499 housing units, of which 12.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.0% were owner-occupied and 22.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%.