Mississippi Counties Map: Click All 82 Counties

How many counties are in Mississippi?

Mississippi has 82 counties. 15 states have more, and 34 have fewer.

Mississippi has 82 counties, and some of them, including Hinds and Harrison, have two county seats. Hinds County holds the capital, Jackson. Harrison County, on the Gulf Coast with Gulfport and Biloxi, has the most people.

How Mississippi's counties were formed

Adams County, created in 1799 around Natchez, is Mississippi's oldest; it was one of two counties formed when the Mississippi Territory began. Treaties with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations in the 1820s and 1830s opened central and northern Mississippi, which was quickly divided into counties. Humphreys County, created in 1918 in the Delta, was the 82nd and last.

Mississippi regions and the counties in each

Mississippi has five regions most maps show. The Delta fills the flat northwest between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers: Bolivar, Sunflower, Washington, Coahoma and Humphreys. North Mississippi's hill country includes DeSoto, Lafayette (Oxford) and Lee (Tupelo), and the Golden Triangle is Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay. Central Mississippi centers on Hinds, Madison and Rankin around Jackson. The Pine Belt, or Piney Woods, includes Forrest (Hattiesburg) and Jones, and the Gulf Coast is Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.

Notable places on the Mississippi county map

Woodall Mountain, the state's highest point at 806 feet, is in Tishomingo County in the northeast corner. Vicksburg National Military Park, site of the 1863 siege, is in Warren County on the Mississippi River. Elvis Presley's birthplace is in Tupelo (Lee County), and Gulf Islands National Seashore protects barrier islands off Harrison and Jackson counties.

Mississippi counties map: the biggest and smallest

Yazoo County is the largest county in Mississippi, with 922 square miles of land, about 2% of the state. Alcorn County is the smallest, at 400 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Alcorn County (400 sq mi), Walthall County (404 sq mi) and Tate County (405 sq mi).

Which counties in Mississippi have the most people?

Harrison County has the most people, about 213,730 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 7% of everyone in Mississippi. The three biggest counties together hold 21% of the state's 2,943,045 people. Issaquena County has the fewest, about 1,295.

The most crowded is DeSoto County, with about 411 people per square mile. The emptiest is Issaquena County, with about 3 people per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Jackson in?

Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, is in Hinds County. Hinds County ranks 2nd of 82 by population. Mississippi is called the Magnolia State, and it became the 20th state in 1817.

Counties on the Mississippi border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Mississippi shares a border with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

How Mississippi's counties compare with other states

Mississippi ranks 31st among the 50 states in land area and 35th in population. Its average county covers about 572 square miles and holds about 35,891 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Mississippi's counties are smaller than usual in size. Small counties pack more names into the same space, so zooming in helps.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Mississippi

• The Delta counties fill the flat northwest between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers.
• Hinds County (Jackson) is in the middle of the state.
• Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties line the Gulf Coast.

With 82 counties, work one region at a time: study it with names on, then take a Practice round and stop when you've found that group. Then print the Mississippi county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 82 Mississippi counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

Mississippi geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the Southeast states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see homeschooling in mississippi, and check mississippi school choice to see whether a program may help pay for Mississippi history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.