county

Smith County, MS

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

AI Overview

Smith County, MS is a small rural county of 14,193 residents with an economy characterized by low educational attainment — only 14.0% hold a bachelor's degree or higher — and a labor force participation rate of just 46.9%, reflecting a limited available workforce. Median household income stands at $60,916, with median worker earnings of $43,182 and a median home value of $114,000, pointing to a low-cost operating environment, though a 19.3% poverty rate and 4.4% unemployment signal underlying economic stress. The county lost 11.6% of its population over the past five years, and an 87.4% homeownership rate alongside median gross rent of $664/month underscore its character as a settled, owner-occupied rural community with limited labor market depth.

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

Population

14,193

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$60,916

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-11.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,504 (74.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone3,257 (23.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races233 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone89 (0.6%)
  • Asian Alone43 (0.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race6 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish209
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic41
  3. 3.Vietnamese20

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

512

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$28,387

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$25,965

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,358
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,063
  3. 3.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities649
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)580
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining351

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,703
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,461
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,071
  4. 4.Service Occupations648
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations573

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.81×)309
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 2.23×)663
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.90×)964
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.09×)1,299
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.93×)516

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$114,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$664/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

87.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999494 (10.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999466 (9.5%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999449 (9.2%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999402 (8.2%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999375 (7.7%)
  • $15,000 to $19,999290 (5.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

14.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$43,182

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,581 (85.2%)
  • Carpooled497 (9.2%)
  • Worked At Home202 (3.8%)
  • Other72 (1.3%)
  • Walked25 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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