# Hinds County, Mississippi

Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds County is a central part of the Jackson metropolitan statistical area. It is a professional, educational, business and industrial hub in the state. It is bordered on the northwest by the Big Black River and on the east by the Pearl River. It is one county width away from the Yazoo River and the southern border of the Mississippi Delta.
In the 19th century, the rural areas of the county were devoted to cotton plantations worked by enslaved African Americans and depended on agriculture well into the 20th century; from 1877 to 1950, this county had 22 lynchings, the highest number in the state. Mississippi has the highest total number of lynchings of any state.
In September 2022, it was reported that Hinds County, Mississippi, had the highest STD rate in the United States, with 2,253 cases per 100,000 residents.

## Etymology

The county is named for General Thomas Hinds, a hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 877 square miles (2,270 km$^2$), of which 870 square miles (2,300 km$^2$) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km$^2$) (0.9%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Mississippi by land area and fifth-largest by total area.

### Adjacent counties

* Madison County (northeast)
* Rankin County (east)
* Copiah County (south)
* Claiborne County (southwest)
* Warren County (west)
* Yazoo County (northwest)

### National protected area

* Natchez Trace Parkway (part)

## Transportation
### Major highways

* I-20
* I-55
* I-220
* US 49
* US 51
* US 80
* MS 18
* MS 22
* MS 25
* MS 27
* MS 467
* MS 473
* MS 476
* Natchez Trace Parkway

### Airports

The following public-use airports are located in Hinds County:
* Hawkins Field (HKS) in Jackson
* John Bell Williams Airport (JVW) in Raymond

## Demographics

With a population of 8,645 at the 1830 census, the county's population has experienced growth to an initial historic high of 250,000 in 1980; its second historic high was 254,441 at the 1990 census. Since then, its population has fluctuated to 250,800 in 2000 and 245,285 in 2010. At the 2020 census, its population was 227,742, locally reflecting a drop in the state's overall population.

### Race and ethnicity

Hinds County, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 92,804 | 68,609 | 58,012 | 37.00% | 27.97% | 25.47% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 152,652 | 168,839 | 157,483 | 60.87% | 68.83% | 69.15% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 280 | 343 | 332 | 0.11% | 0.14% | 0.15% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 1,493 | 1,851 | 2,157 | 0.60% | 0.75% | 0.95% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 23 | 29 | 43 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 153 | 151 | 562 | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.25% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 1,417 | 1,833 | 4,589 | 0.56% | 0.75% | 2.01% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,978 | 3,630 | 4,564 | 0.79% | 1.48% | 2.00% |
| Total | 250,800 | 245,285 | 227,742 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
With the trend of greater diversification in the United States leading up to and following the 2020 census, the population of non-Hispanic whites declined from 37.0% of the population in 2000 to 25.5% of the population in 2020. The 2020 census reported 69.2% of its population was Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, nil% Pacific Islander, 2.0% of two or more races, and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

## Law enforcement

The Hinds County Sheriffs Department provides police services to areas of the county that are unincorporated or in municipalities that do not have their own local police force. It was founded on January 1, 1928.
Tyrone Lewis took office January 3, 2012, taking over from Malcolm E. McMillin who had held the role for 20 years. Victor Mason defeated Tyrone Lewis August 4, 2015, as Lewis sought another term. Mason went on to secure the Office November 3, 2015. Mason defeated 3 other candidates securing more than seventy percent of the vote. Victor Mason was defeated in the Democratic Primary on August 27, 2019, by Lee D. Vance. On August 4, 2021, Sheriff Lee Vance was found deceased at his home after contracting COVID-19. The current sheriff is Tyree Jones, elected November 23, 2021.

## Politics

Hinds County is one of the most staunchly Democratic counties in Mississippi due to it being an urban county and having a large African-American population. The last Republican to win the county was George H.W. Bush in his failed 1992 re-election bid.
United States presidential election results for Hinds County, Mississippi :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 22,816 | 26.19% | 62,840 | 72.12% | 1,472 | 1.69% |
| 2020 | 25,141 | 25.09% | 73,550 | 73.40% | 1,517 | 1.51% |
| 2016 | 25,275 | 26.58% | 67,594 | 71.09% | 2,208 | 2.32% |
| 2012 | 29,664 | 27.86% | 76,112 | 71.47% | 715 | 0.67% |
| 2008 | 32,949 | 30.26% | 75,401 | 69.24% | 552 | 0.51% |
| 2004 | 36,975 | 39.97% | 54,845 | 59.29% | 680 | 0.74% |
| 2000 | 37,753 | 43.01% | 46,789 | 53.31% | 3,228 | 3.68% |
| 1996 | 35,653 | 42.19% | 45,410 | 53.73% | 3,446 | 4.08% |
| 1992 | 45,031 | 46.90% | 43,434 | 45.23% | 7,559 | 7.87% |
| 1988 | 52,749 | 55.52% | 41,058 | 43.22% | 1,199 | 1.26% |
| 1984 | 56,953 | 56.69% | 42,373 | 42.18% | 1,142 | 1.14% |
| 1980 | 48,135 | 53.44% | 39,369 | 43.71% | 2,570 | 2.85% |
| 1976 | 45,803 | 60.46% | 28,748 | 37.95% | 1,205 | 1.59% |
| 1972 | 49,877 | 77.82% | 12,679 | 19.78% | 1,540 | 2.40% |
| 1968 | 13,488 | 22.21% | 14,880 | 24.50% | 32,366 | 53.29% |
| 1964 | 36,831 | 87.93% | 5,058 | 12.07% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 11,083 | 38.23% | 5,811 | 20.05% | 12,094 | 41.72% |
| 1956 | 7,015 | 34.59% | 7,104 | 35.03% | 6,159 | 30.37% |
| 1952 | 12,520 | 53.38% | 10,933 | 46.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 492 | 3.23% | 1,041 | 6.82% | 13,722 | 89.95% |
| 1944 | 962 | 8.42% | 10,466 | 91.58% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 538 | 5.14% | 9,917 | 94.82% | 4 | 0.04% |
| 1936 | 313 | 3.49% | 8,647 | 96.33% | 16 | 0.18% |
| 1932 | 403 | 5.77% | 6,541 | 93.67% | 39 | 0.56% |
| 1928 | 976 | 14.60% | 5,707 | 85.40% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 245 | 5.45% | 4,083 | 90.77% | 170 | 3.78% |
| 1920 | 151 | 5.54% | 2,510 | 92.01% | 67 | 2.46% |
| 1916 | 97 | 4.15% | 2,220 | 94.99% | 20 | 0.86% |
| 1912 | 40 | 1.80% | 2,065 | 92.89% | 118 | 5.31% |

## Education
### Public schools

School districts:
* Clinton Public School District
* Hinds County School District (Raymond)
* Jackson Public School District
State-operated schools:
* Mississippi School for the Blind
* Mississippi School for the Deaf

### Private schools

* Clinton Christian Academy (Clinton)
* Hillcrest Christian School (Jackson)
* Jackson Academy (Jackson)
* Mt. Salus Christian School (Clinton)
* Rebul Academy (Learned)
* Central Hinds Academy (Raymond)

### Colleges and universities

* Belhaven University (Jackson)
* Hinds Community College (Raymond)
* Jackson State University (Jackson)
* Millsaps College (Jackson)
* Mississippi College (Clinton)
** Mississippi College School of Law (Jackson)
* Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson)
* Tougaloo College (Tougaloo)
* University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson)
* Wesley Biblical Seminary (Jackson)
Hinds County is in the community college district of Hinds Community College.

### Public libraries

* Jackson/Hinds Library System

## Communities
### Cities

* Byram
* Clinton
* Jackson (county seat; partly in Madison and Rankin counties)
* Raymond (county seat)

### Towns

* Bolton
* Edwards
* Learned
* Terry
* Utica

### Unincorporated communities

* Brownsville
* Cayuga
* Cynthia
* Midway
* Oakley
* Pocahontas

## Notable people

* Kate Stone (1841–1907), diarist
* Henry Sloan (1870–1948), delta blues musician
* Charley Patton (1891–1934), blues musician
* Richard Durham (1917–1984), writer of the radio series Destination Freedom