# Marion County, Mississippi

Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,441. Its county seat is Columbia. Marion County is named for American Revolutionary War guerrilla leader Francis Marion also known as The Swamp Fox.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 549 square miles (1,420 km$^2$), of which 542 square miles (1,400 km$^2$) is land and 6.2 square miles (16 km$^2$) (1.1%) is water.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 98
* Mississippi Highway 13
* Mississippi Highway 35
* Mississippi Highway 43
* Mississippi Highway 44

### Adjacent counties

* Jefferson Davis County (north)
* Lamar County (east)
* Pearl River County (southeast)
* Washington Parish, Louisiana (south)
* Walthall County (west)
* Lawrence County (northwest)

## Demographics

Marion County racial composition as of 2020 :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 15,721 | 64.32% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 7,583 | 31.03% |
| Native American | 42 | 0.17% |
| Asian | 65 | 0.27% |
| Other/Mixed | 624 | 2.55% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 406 | 1.66% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,441 people, 9,483 households, and 5,863 families residing in the county.

## Government and infrastructure

The Mississippi Department of Human Services's Division of Youth Services operated the Columbia Training School in unincorporated Marion County. The facility was closed in 2008.
United States presidential election results for Marion County, Mississippi :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 7,874 | 70.25% | 3,215 | 28.68% | 119 | 1.06% |
| 2020 | 8,273 | 67.94% | 3,787 | 31.10% | 117 | 0.96% |
| 2016 | 7,836 | 67.01% | 3,677 | 31.45% | 180 | 1.54% |
| 2012 | 8,237 | 64.71% | 4,393 | 34.51% | 99 | 0.78% |
| 2008 | 8,513 | 65.43% | 4,422 | 33.99% | 75 | 0.58% |
| 2004 | 7,999 | 66.95% | 3,888 | 32.54% | 60 | 0.50% |
| 2000 | 6,796 | 61.79% | 4,114 | 37.41% | 88 | 0.80% |
| 1996 | 5,023 | 50.39% | 4,334 | 43.48% | 611 | 6.13% |
| 1992 | 5,776 | 49.74% | 4,654 | 40.08% | 1,183 | 10.19% |
| 1988 | 7,019 | 61.87% | 4,240 | 37.38% | 85 | 0.75% |
| 1984 | 7,355 | 66.11% | 3,757 | 33.77% | 13 | 0.12% |
| 1980 | 5,218 | 48.73% | 5,366 | 50.12% | 123 | 1.15% |
| 1976 | 5,300 | 49.36% | 5,283 | 49.20% | 154 | 1.43% |
| 1972 | 6,805 | 79.40% | 1,693 | 19.75% | 72 | 0.84% |
| 1968 | 763 | 9.16% | 1,722 | 20.66% | 5,848 | 70.18% |
| 1964 | 5,469 | 91.55% | 505 | 8.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 698 | 22.92% | 1,082 | 35.53% | 1,265 | 41.54% |
| 1956 | 611 | 20.15% | 1,751 | 57.75% | 670 | 22.10% |
| 1952 | 1,420 | 35.35% | 2,597 | 64.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 49 | 1.79% | 205 | 7.47% | 2,491 | 90.75% |
| 1944 | 54 | 2.16% | 2,441 | 97.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 45 | 2.11% | 2,083 | 97.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 37 | 1.88% | 1,932 | 98.07% | 1 | 0.05% |
| 1932 | 94 | 3.71% | 2,429 | 95.97% | 8 | 0.32% |
| 1928 | 526 | 36.33% | 922 | 63.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 99 | 8.70% | 1,039 | 91.30% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1920 | 143 | 18.52% | 613 | 79.40% | 16 | 2.07% |
| 1916 | 51 | 6.01% | 792 | 93.40% | 5 | 0.59% |
| 1912 | 12 | 2.51% | 438 | 91.44% | 29 | 6.05% |

## Communities
### City

* Columbia (county seat & only incorporated place)

### Census-designated places

* Foxworth
* Kokomo

### Unincorporated communities

* Bunker Hill
* Cheraw
* Expose, an unincorporated area of Marion County that was founded by Harry Solomon Expose (born 1861), a community leader who owned a general store and served as postmaster. Monroe Work's Negro Yearbook listed it among "Negro Towns and Settlements in the United States." Football great Walter Payton's mother Alyne Sibley Payton was born in Expose on January 14, 1926.
* Good Hope
* Goss
* Hopewell
* Hub
* Morgantown
* Sandy Hook

## Education

There are two school districts in the county: Columbia School District and Marion County School District.
The county is in the service area of Pearl River Community College.

## Notable people

* Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo," Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, producer of Marion County's first rodeo in 1935
* Charles C. Bass (1875–1975), "Father of Preventive Dentistry"; researcher in tropical medicine
* Charles Coleman (American football) (born 1963), American football player
* Logan Cooke - NFL punter
* Peggy Dow, American actress
* Walter Payton, American football player