county

Panola County, MS

Demographic and economic profile of Panola County, MS, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Panola County, MS is a small rural county of about 33,000 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 51.6% and an unemployment rate of 8.8%, reflecting a constrained and cost-competitive workforce where median worker earnings stand at $33,714 and only 15.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The county's median household income of $45,945 and median home value of $121,500 point to a low-cost operating environment, though a poverty rate of 24.1% and a 3.7% population decline over five years signal ongoing demographic contraction.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

32,965

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$45,945

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.7% since 2018

Panola County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • Black or African American Alone15,844 (48.3%)
  • White Alone15,293 (46.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races689 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race643 (2.0%)
  • Asian Alone164 (0.5%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone104 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish427
  2. 2.Arabic121
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic9
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island7

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,105

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$32,911

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,616

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

8.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

24.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,339
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,035
  3. 3.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,389
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,005
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)966

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,783
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,536
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,516
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,177
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,492

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.69×)2,023
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.54×)429
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.49×)1,052
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.47×)283
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.41×)805

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$121,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$859/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,095 (12.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999922 (10.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999780 (8.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999565 (6.5%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999532 (6.1%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999454 (5.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,714

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone10,646 (87.1%)
  • Carpooled847 (6.9%)
  • Worked At Home568 (4.6%)
  • Walked60 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit51 (0.4%)
  • Other48 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Panola County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.