county

Wayne County, MS

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, MS is a small rural county of 19,699 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 53.4% and an unemployment rate of 7.9%, reflecting a constrained but low-cost workforce where median worker earnings stand at $28,539 and only 16.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The county's median household income of $37,619 and median home value of $88,000 indicate a low-cost operating environment, reinforced by an 88.3% homeownership rate. Population has declined 3.5% over five years, and a poverty rate of 22.9% points to persistent structural economic pressure in the region.

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

Population

19,699

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$37,619

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone11,143 (56.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone7,465 (37.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races478 (2.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race433 (2.2%)
  • Asian Alone117 (0.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone70 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,039
  2. 2.Vietnamese18
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island2

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

676

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$30,946

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,336

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

22.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,974
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,606
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)840
  4. 4.Construction (Group)714
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities505

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,205
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,830
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,499
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations1,474
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations836

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.02×)484
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.22×)1,662
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.33×)1,088
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.16×)604
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.03×)1,809

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$88,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$786/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

85.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $70,000 to $79,999623 (9.5%)
  • Less Than $10,000517 (7.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999504 (7.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999465 (7.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999426 (6.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999398 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$28,539

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

32.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,505 (85.1%)
  • Carpooled643 (8.4%)
  • Worked At Home306 (4.0%)
  • Other98 (1.3%)
  • Public Transit47 (0.6%)
  • Walked42 (0.5%)

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.