Where is Mississippi?

Mississippi is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 32.2723° N, 89.7572° W.

What is the largest city in Mississippi?

Jackson is the largest city mapped in Mississippi, with a metropolitan population of about 250,902.

How many cities are in Mississippi?

YearMaps maps 11 cities and towns in Mississippi, with a combined metropolitan population of about 758,611. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

Mississippi Map — Cities & Geography, United States

Interactive Map of Mississippi

5.4

About Mississippi

Mississippi ( MISS-iss-IP-ee) is a state in the Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the southwest, and Arkansas to the northwest. Mississippi's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River, or its historical course. Mississippi is the 32nd largest by area and 35th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states and has the lowest per-capita income. Jackson is both the state's capital and largest city. Greater Jackson is the state's most populous metropolitan area, with a population of 619,968 in 2020. Other major cities include Gulfport, Southaven, Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Olive Branch, Tupelo, Meridian, and Greenville.

On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state admitted to the Union. By 1860, Mississippi was the nation's top cotton-producing state and slaves accounted for 55% of the state population. Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861, and was one of the seven original Confederate States, which constituted the largest slaveholding states in the nation. Following the Civil War, it was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870.

Mississippi ranks among the highest of U.S. states in religiosity and among the lowest in measures of health, education, development, and income. Mississippi's major industries include agriculture and forestry. The state produces more than half of the country's farm-raised catfish, and is a top producer of sweet potatoes, cotton and pulpwood. Others include advanced manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and health services. Mississippi is almost entirely within the east Gulf Coastal Plain, and generally consists of lowland plains and low hills. The northwest remainder of the state consists of the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi's highest point is Woodall Mountain at 807 feet (246 m) above sea level adjacent to the Cumberland Plateau; the lowest is the Gulf of Mexico.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Mississippi (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Mississippi in Depth

History

Near 9500 BC, Native Americans or Paleo-Indians arrived in what today is referred to as the American South. Paleo-Indians in the South were hunter-gatherers who pursued the megafauna that became extinct following the end of the Pleistocene age. In the Mississippi Delta, Native American settlements and agricultural fields were developed on the natural levees, higher ground in the proximity of rivers. The Native Americans developed extensive fields near their permanent villages. Together with other practices, they created some localized deforestation but did not alter the ecology of the Mississippi Delta as a whole.

Geography

Mississippi is bordered to the north by Tennessee, to the east by Alabama, to the south by Louisiana and a narrow coast on the Gulf of Mexico; and to the west, across the Mississippi River, by Louisiana and Arkansas.

In addition to its namesake, major rivers in Mississippi include the Big Black River, the Pearl River, the Yazoo River, the Pascagoula River, and the Tombigbee River. Major lakes include Ross Barnett Reservoir, Arkabutla, Sardis, and Grenada, with the largest being Sardis Lake.

Mississippi is entirely composed of lowlands, the highest point being Woodall Mountain, at 807 ft (246 m) above sea level, in the northeastern part of the state. The lowest point is sea level at the Gulf Coast. The state's mean elevation is 300 ft (91 m) above sea level.

Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Mississippi's total gross state product in 2025 was $165 billion. GDP growth was.5 percent in 2015 and is estimated to be 2.4 in 2016 according to Darrin Webb, the state's chief economist, who noted it would make two consecutive years of positive growth since the recession. Mississippi's per capita personal income was $54,531 in 2025, the lowest per capita personal income of any state, but the state also has the nation's lowest living costs. Mississippians consistently rank as one of the highest per capita in charitable contributions.

At 56 percent, the state has one of the lowest workforce participation rates in the country. Approximately 70,000 adults are disabled, which is 10 percent of the workforce.

Demographics

Mississippi's population has remained from 2 million people at the 1930 U.S. census, to 2.9 million at the 2020 census. In contrast with Alabama to its east, and Louisiana to its west, Mississippi has been the slowest growing of the three Gulf coast states by population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Mississippi's center of population is located in Leake County, in the town of Lena.

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 1,196 homeless people in Mississippi.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Mississippi (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Mississippi: Key Facts

Key facts about Mississippi
Population	2,961,279 (2020)
Area	125,443 km²
Capital	Jackson
Head of government	Tate Reeves
Highest point	Woodall Mountain
Established	10 December 1817

Facts from Wikidata Q1494 (CC0).

History of Mississippi: Empires and States

The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Mississippi, from Kingdom of France in 1702 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Mississippi, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Kingdom of France	1702–1762 CE
New France	1702–1762 CE
British Colonial Empire	1763–1780 CE
The British Empire	1763–1780 CE
The Spanish Empire	1781–1810 CE
United States of America	1811–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Mississippi

Mississippi on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Mississippi

Largest Cities in Mississippi

11 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Mississippi
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Jackson	250,902	Mississippi	Admin-1 capital
2	Southaven	121,268	Mississippi	Populated place
3	Gulfport	82,165	Mississippi	Populated place
4	Hattiesburg	58,874	Mississippi	Populated place
5	Biloxi	50,644	Mississippi	Populated place
6	Meridian	42,290	Mississippi	Populated place
7	Greenville	38,107	Mississippi	Populated place
8	Tupelo	35,956	Mississippi	Populated place
9	Laurel	28,841	Mississippi	Populated place
10	Vicksburg	25,701	Mississippi	Populated place
11	Natchez	23,863	Mississippi	Populated place

Ports in Mississippi

2 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Mississippi
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Pascagoula	38.4 m	Small	Gulf of Mexico	large vessels
2	Gulfport	38.4 m	Small	Gulf of Mexico	medium vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mississippi

1 World Heritage Site mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mississippi
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Poverty Point	2014	Cultural	(iii)

Mississippi: Quick Answers

Where is Mississippi?: Mississippi is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 32.2723° N, 89.7572° W.
What is the largest city in Mississippi?: Jackson is the largest city mapped in Mississippi, with a metropolitan population of about 250,902.
How many cities are in Mississippi?: YearMaps maps 11 cities and towns in Mississippi, with a combined metropolitan population of about 758,611. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.