# List of counties in Mississippi

The U.S. state of Mississippi has 82 counties. The first two counties, Adams County and Pickering County (renamed Jefferson County later), were established in 1799 in the Mississippi Territory. 14 counties, all in the southwest, were created before the Mississippi Territory became a state in 1817. The last county created was Humphreys County in 1918. The Mississippi Constitution governs the creation of new counties, which requires an election of qualified electors to approve of the creation of a new county. Elections are limited to once every four years. Any new county must be at least 400 square miles (1,000 km$^2$), with no existing county reduced below that size.
The county governing body, known as the Board of Supervisors, is located under the judicial branch of state government as established in the 1817 Mississippi Constitution. The 1868 Constitution mandated five-member Board of Supervisors, an evolution of the five-member board of police created in the 1832 Constitution. Supervisors are elected without term limits. County government includes other elected and appointed officials who serve concurrent four-year terms. Major elected officials include the chancery clerk, who manages records and administrative tasks for the supervisors and chancery court; the circuit clerk, who handles election administration duties; and the sheriff, who functions as the chief of county law enforcement. Other elected officials include the constables, justice court judges, and the tax assessor or collector (23 counties have separate officials). Major appointed county officials include the board attorney, the county administrator, the county engineer, and the road manager. Counties have either one of two county seats, depending on the number of court districts.
Through evolving constitutions, counties are granted police powers, administrative duties for transportation infrastructure, and election scheduling for vacacines in county offices. The Board of Supervisors are mandated to additional duties as defined by the legislature. While placed under the judicial branch, the Mississippi Supreme Court recognize counties perform mixed duties that are executive, legislative, and judicial in nature. Prior to 1988, each supervisor independently managed roads and bridges in their assigned area, and would allocate money at their discretion, subject to restrictions in state law. County revenues were divided equally among all five supervisors. However, this came under scrutiny after Operation Pretense (1984–1987), an FBI sting operation targeting corruption that led to the indictment of fifty-five county supervisors. The Mississippi Legislature passed the County Government Reorganization Act of 1988 in response, which transferred responsibilities to a system of centralized road administration.
According to 2024 U.S. Census Data, the average population of Mississippi's 82 counties is 35,891, with Harrison County as the most populous (213,730) and Issaquena County the least (1,295). Six counties have populations over 100,000 while 15 have populations under 10,000. Yazoo County is the largest by total area at 933.9 square miles (2,419 km$^2$), and Alcorn County is the smallest at 401.3 square miles (1,039 km$^2$). The average land area is 591 square miles (1,530 km$^2$). 19 counties have names with Native American etymologies.
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code is used by the United States Federal government to uniquely identify counties. In the table below, each code links to the U.S. Census "quick facts" page for that county. Mississippi's FIPS state code is 28.

## List of counties

| County | FIPS code | County seat | Smithsonian Trinomial | Est. | Origin | Etymology | Population (2024) | Total Area |
| Adams County | 001 | Natchez | AD | 1799 | One of two original counties in the Mississippi Territory formed by Governor Winthrop Sargent | John Adams (1735–1826), Founding Father and 2nd U.S. President | 28,674 | 487.9 sq mi (1,264 km$^2$) |
| Alcorn County | 003 | Corinth | AL | 1870 | Formed from Tippiah and Tishomingo Counties | James L. Alcorn (1816–1894), 28th Governor of Mississippi and U.S. Senator | 34,228 | 401.3 sq mi (1,039 km$^2$) |
| Amite County | 005 | Liberty | AM | 1809 | Formed from Wilkinson County | Amite River, from potential corruption of Choctaw word for "young" | 12,451 | 731.7 sq mi (1,895 km$^2$) |
| Attala County | 007 | Kosciusko | AT | 1833 | Formed from Madison County | Fictional Native American heroine from the early 19th-century novel Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand | 17,222 | 736.7 sq mi (1,908 km$^2$) |
| Benton County | 009 | Ashland | BE | 1870 | Formed from Marshall and Tippah Counties | Thought to be named for U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, the true namesake is Samuel Benton (1820–1864), Confederate brigadier general | 7,566 | 408.6 sq mi (1,058 km$^2$) |
| Bolivar County | 011 | Cleveland, Rosedale | BO | 1836 | Formed from Tallahatchie and Washington Counties and Unorganized | Simon Bolivar (1783–1830), South American democratic revolutionary | 28,395 | 905.7 sq mi (2,346 km$^2$) |
| Calhoun County | 013 | Pittsboro | CN | 1852 | Formed from Chickasaw, Lafayette and Yalobusha Counties | John C. Calhoun (1782–1850), 7th U.S. Vice President | 12,754 | 588 sq mi (1,523 km$^2$) |
| Carroll County | 015 | Carrollton, Vaiden | CA | 1833 | Formed from Unorganized and Lowndes, Monroe, and Washington Counties | Charles Carroll (1737–1832), last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence | 9,378 | 634.5 sq mi (1,643 km$^2$) |
| Chickasaw County | 017 | Houston, Okolona | CS | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County and Unorganized | Chickasaw Native Americans | 16,774 | 504.3 sq mi (1,306 km$^2$) |
| Choctaw County | 019 | Ackerman | CH | 1833 | Formed from Unorganized and Lowndes, Madison, and Monroe Counties | Choctaw Native Americans | 8,091 | 420.3 sq mi (1,089 km$^2$) |
| Claiborne County | 021 | Port Gibson | CB | 1802 | Formed from Jefferson (Pickering) County | William C. C. Claiborne (c. 1773–1775–1817), 2nd Governor of Mississippi Territory | 8,122 | 500.9 sq mi (1,297 km$^2$) |
| Clarke County | 023 | Quitman | CK | 1833 | Formed from Wayne County | Joshua G. Clarke (1780–1828), Mississippi Supreme Court Justice and 1st Chancellor of the Mississippi Chancery Courts | 15,155 | 693.4 sq mi (1,796 km$^2$) |
| Clay County | 025 | West Point | CL | 1871 | Formed from Chickasaw, Lowndes, Monroe and Oktibbeha Counties as Colfax County | Henry Clay (1777–1852), 9th U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator | 18,213 | 415.9 sq mi (1,077 km$^2$) |
| Coahoma County | 027 | Clarksdale | CO | 1836 | Formed from Unorganized | Named for Chickasaw chief Coahoma | 20,105 | 583.1 sq mi (1,510 km$^2$) |
| Copiah County | 029 | Hazlehurst | CP | 1823 | Formed from Franklin, Hinds, and Lawrence Counties | Copiah Creek, from Choctaw for "calling panther" | 27,536 | 779.4 sq mi (2,019 km$^2$) |
| Covington County | 031 | Collins | CV | 1819 | Formed from Lawrence and Wayne Counties | Leonard Covington (1768–1813), U.S. House Representative and War of 1812 brigadier general | 18,015 | 414.9 sq mi (1,075 km$^2$) |
| DeSoto County | 033 | Hernando | DS | 1836 | Formed from Monroe and Washington Counties | Hernando de Soto (c. 1497–1542), Spanish explorer of the Americas | 195,871 | 497.2 sq mi (1,288 km$^2$) |
| Forrest County | 035 | Hattiesburg | FO | 1908 | Formed from Perry County | Nathan B. Forrest (1821–1877), Confederate general and 1st Grand Wizard of the First Ku Klux Klan | 78,435 | 470.2 sq mi (1,218 km$^2$) |
| Franklin County | 037 | Meadville | FR | 1809 | Formed from Adams, Amite, and Wilkinson Counties | Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), Founding Father, drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and influential polymath | 7,516 | 566.5 sq mi (1,467 km$^2$) |
| George County | 039 | Lucedale | GE | 1910 | Formed from Greene and Jackson Counties | James Z. George (1826–1897), U.S. Senator and Confederate colonel | 25,880 | 483.6 sq mi (1,253 km$^2$) |
| Greene County | 041 | Leakesville | GN | 1811 | Formed from Wayne County | Nathanael Greene (1742–1786), Revolutionary War general | 13,675 | 718.7 sq mi (1,861 km$^2$) |
| Grenada County | 043 | Grenada | GR | 1870 | Formed from Carroll, Choctaw, Tallahatchie and Yalobusha Counties | Spanish province of Granada | 20,931 | 449.4 sq mi (1,164 km$^2$) |
| Hancock County | 045 | Bay St. Louis | HA | 1812 | Formed from Mobile County (AL) | John Hancock (1737–1793), Founding Father, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and 4th and 13th President of the Continental Congress | 46,492 | 484 sq mi (1,254 km$^2$) |
| Harrison County | 047 | Gulfport, Biloxi | HR | 1841 | Formed from Hancock and Jackson Counties | William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), 9th U.S. President | 213,730 | 584.5 sq mi (1,514 km$^2$) |
| Hinds County | 049 | Jackson, Raymond | HI | 1821 | Formed from Unorganized land | Thomas Hinds (1780–1840), U.S. House Representative and War of 1812 major general | 211,975 | 877.3 sq mi (2,272 km$^2$) |
| Holmes County | 051 | Lexington | HO | 1833 | Formed from Yazoo County | David Holmes (1769–1832), 1st and 5th Governor of Mississippi and U.S. Senator | 15,560 | 764.5 sq mi (1,980 km$^2$) |
| Humphreys County | 053 | Belzoni | HU | 1918 | Formed from Holmes, Sharkey, Sunflower, Washington and Yazoo Counties | Benjamin G. Humphreys (1808–1882), 26th Governor of Mississippi and Confederate brigadier general | 7,121 | 431.3 sq mi (1,117 km$^2$) |
| Issaquena County | 055 | Mayersville | IS | 1844 | Formed from Washington County | Issaquena Creek, from Choctaw for "deer river" | 1,295 | 436.7 sq mi (1,131 km$^2$) |
| Itawamba County | 057 | Fulton | IT | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Itawamba (c. 1759–1834), Chickasaw chief | 24,198 | 540.4 sq mi (1,400 km$^2$) |
| Jackson County | 059 | Pascagoula | JA | 1812 | Formed from Mobile County (AL) | Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), 7th U.S. President and War of 1812 hero | 147,002 | 740.8 sq mi (1,919 km$^2$) |
| Jasper County | 061 | Bay Springs, Paulding | JS | 1833 | Formed from Jones and Wayne Counties | William Jasper (c. 1750–1779), Revolutionary War sergeant | 15,799 | 677.4 sq mi (1,754 km$^2$) |
| Jefferson County | 063 | Fayette | JE | 1799 | Origianlly known as Pickering, one of two original counties in the Mississippi Territory formed by Governor Winthrop Sargent | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Founding Father, 3rd U.S. President, and primary author of the Declaration of Independence | 6,900 | 527.1 sq mi (1,365 km$^2$) |
| Jefferson Davis County | 065 | Prentiss | JD | 1906 | Formed from Covington and Lawrence Counties | Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), 1st Confederate States President and U.S. Senator | 11,059 | 409.2 sq mi (1,060 km$^2$) |
| Jones County | 067 | Laurel, Ellisville | JO | 1826 | Formed from Covington and Wayne Counties | John Paul Jones (1747–1792), Revolutionary War naval captain who is known as the "Father of the American Navy" | 65,837 | 699.7 sq mi (1,812 km$^2$) |
| Kemper County | 069 | De Kalb | KE | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes, Rankin and Wayne Counties | Reuben Kemper (1771–1827), American pioneer and revolutionary in Spanish Florida | 8,562 | 767 sq mi (1,987 km$^2$) |
| Lafayette County | 071 | Oxford | LA | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Marquis de la Fayette (1757–1834), French-born Revolutionary War general | 59,843 | 679.3 sq mi (1,759 km$^2$) |
| Lamar County | 073 | Purvis | LM | 1904 | Formed from Marion and Pearl River Counties | Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1825–1893), Confederate colonel, U.S. Senator, United States Secretary of the Interior, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | 66,734 | 500.4 sq mi (1,296 km$^2$) |
| Lauderdale County | 075 | Meridian | LD | 1833 | Formed from Rankin and Wayne Counties | James Lauderdale (1768–1814), War of 1812 colonel | 70,588 | 715.3 sq mi (1,853 km$^2$) |
| Lawrence County | 077 | Monticello | LW | 1814 | Formed from Marion County | James Lawrence (1781–1813), War of 1812 naval captain of the USS Chesapeake | 11,672 | 435.8 sq mi (1,129 km$^2$) |
| Leake County | 079 | Carthage | LK | 1833 | Formed from Madison and Rankin Counties | Walter Leake (1762–1825), 3rd Governor of Mississippi and U.S. Senator | 21,462 | 585.4 sq mi (1,516 km$^2$) |
| Lee County | 081 | Tupelo | LE | 1866 | Formed from Itawamba and Pontotoc Counties | Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States | 83,012 | 453.1 sq mi (1,174 km$^2$) |
| Leflore County | 083 | Greenwood | LF | 1871 | Formed from Carroll and Sunflower Counties | Greenwood LeFlore (1800–1865), Chief of the Choctaw Nation and state senator and representative | 26,157 | 606.3 sq mi (1,570 km$^2$) |
| Lincoln County | 085 | Brookhaven | LI | 1870 | Formed from Amite, Copiah, Franklin, Lawrence and Pike Counties | Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), 16th U.S. President | 34,956 | 588.2 sq mi (1,523 km$^2$) |
| Lowndes County | 087 | Columbus | LO | 1830 | Formed from Monroe County and Unorganized | William Jones Lowndes (1782–1822), U.S. House Representative | 57,210 | 516.3 sq mi (1,337 km$^2$) |
| Madison County | 089 | Canton | MD | 1828 | Formed from Yazoo County | James Madison (1751–1836), Founding Father, 4th U.S. President, and "Father of the Constitution" | 114,247 | 742.2 sq mi (1,922 km$^2$) |
| Marion County | 091 | Columbia | MA | 1811 | Formed from Unorganized and Amite, Franklin and Wayne Counties | Francis Marion (c. 1732–1795), Revolutionary War lieutenant colonel | 24,008 | 548.7 sq mi (1,421 km$^2$) |
| Marshall County | 093 | Holly Springs | MR | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | John Marshall (1755–1835), Chief Justice of the United States who shaped the Supreme Court's power | 34,374 | 709.7 sq mi (1,838 km$^2$) |
| Monroe County | 095 | Aberdeen | MO | 1821 | Formed from Unorganized land | James Monroe (1758–1831), Founding Father and 5th U.S. President | 33,483 | 772.1 sq mi (2,000 km$^2$) |
| Montgomery County | 097 | Winona | MT | 1871 | Formed from Carroll and Choctaw Counties | Richard Montgomery (1738–1775), Revolutionary War major general | 9,411 | 407.8 sq mi (1,056 km$^2$) |
| Neshoba County | 099 | Philadelphia | NE | 1833 | Formed from Jones, Madison, Rankin and Wayne Counties | Choctaw for "wolf" | 28,973 | 571.7 sq mi (1,481 km$^2$) |
| Newton County | 101 | Decatur | NW | 1836 | Formed from Neshoba County | Isaac Newton (1642–1726/27), English polymath who was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment | 21,063 | 579.6 sq mi (1,501 km$^2$) |
| Noxubee County | 103 | Macon | NO | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes and Rankin Counties | Noxubee River, from Choctaw for “to smell as newly caught fish; to stink, as fish", "strong smelling", or "offensive odor" | 9,825 | 700.1 sq mi (1,813 km$^2$) |
| Oktibbeha County | 105 | Starkville | OK | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes County | Tibbee Creek, from Choctaw for "fighting water" or "blocks of ice therein" | 51,965 | 462 sq mi (1,197 km$^2$) |
| Panola County | 107 | Batesville, Sardis | PA | 1836 | Formed from Monroe and Washington Counties and Unorganized | Choctaw for "cotton" | 32,764 | 705.2 sq mi (1,826 km$^2$) |
| Pearl River County | 109 | Poplarville | PR | 1890 | Formed from Hancock and Marion Counties | Pearl River | 59,030 | 819.1 sq mi (2,121 km$^2$) |
| Perry County | 111 | New Augusta | PE | 1820 | Formed from Greene County | Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819), War of 1812 naval captain | 11,406 | 650.2 sq mi (1,684 km$^2$) |
| Pike County | 113 | Magnolia | PI | 1815 | Formed from Marion County | Zebulon Pike (1779–1813), western explorer and War of 1812 brigadier general | 38,980 | 410.6 sq mi (1,063 km$^2$) |
| Pontotoc County | 115 | Pontotoc | PO | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Chickasaw name for a nearby creek, meaning "hanging grapes" or "cattail prairie" | 32,014 | 501 sq mi (1,298 km$^2$) |
| Prentiss County | 117 | Booneville | PS | 1870 | Formed from Itawamba and Tishomingo Counties | Seargent Smith Prentiss (1808–1850), U.S. House Representative | 25,489 | 418.2 sq mi (1,083 km$^2$) |
| Quitman County | 119 | Marks | QU | 1877 | Formed from Coahoma, Panola, Tallahatchie and Tunica Counties | John A. Quitman (1798–1858), 10th and 16th Governor of Mississippi and U.S. House Representative | 5,542 | 406.4 sq mi (1,053 km$^2$) |
| Rankin County | 121 | Brandon | RA | 1828 | Formed from Hinds County | Christopher Rankin (1788–1826), U.S. House Representative | 160,573 | 805.9 sq mi (2,087 km$^2$) |
| Scott County | 123 | Forest | SC | 1833 | Formed from Covington, Jones and Rankin Counties | Abram M. Scott (1785–1833), 7th Governor of Mississippi | 27,666 | 610.4 sq mi (1,581 km$^2$) |
| Sharkey County | 125 | Rolling Fork | SH | 1876 | Formed from Issaquena and Washington Counties | William L. Sharkey (1798–1873), 25th Governor of Mississippi and Mississippi Supreme Court justice | 3,234 | 435.3 sq mi (1,127 km$^2$) |
| Simpson County | 127 | Mendenhall | SI | 1824 | Formed from Copiah County | Josiah Simpson, Mississippi Territory judge and delegate to the 1817 Mississippi Constitutional Convention | 25,597 | 590.5 sq mi (1,529 km$^2$) |
| Smith County | 129 | Raleigh | SM | 1833 | Formed from Covington, Jones and Rankin Counties | David Smith, Revolutionary War major | 14,051 | 637.3 sq mi (1,651 km$^2$) |
| Stone County | 131 | Wiggins | ST | 1916 | Formed from Harrison County | John M. Stone (1830–1900), 31st and 33rd Governor of Mississippi | 19,569 | 448.1 sq mi (1,161 km$^2$) |
| Sunflower County | 133 | Indianola | SU | 1844 | Formed from Bolivar County | Sunflower River | 23,029 | 706.9 sq mi (1,831 km$^2$) |
| Tallahatchie County | 135 | Charleston, Sumner | TL | 1833 | Formed from Washington and Monroe Counties and Unorganized | Tallahatchie River, from Choctaw for "river of the rock" | 10,921 | 652.2 sq mi (1,689 km$^2$) |
| Tate County | 137 | Senatobia | TA | 1873 | Formed from DeSoto and Marshall Counties | Thomas Simpson Tate, one of the county's original settlers | 28,551 | 411 sq mi (1,064 km$^2$) |
| Tippah County | 139 | Ripley | TI | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Chickasaw for "to eat one another" | 21,423 | 459.9 sq mi (1,191 km$^2$) |
| Tishomingo County | 141 | Iuka | TS | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Chief Tishomingo (c.1735–c.1837), Chickasaw chief | 18,553 | 444.6 sq mi (1,152 km$^2$) |
| Tunica County | 143 | Tunica | TU | 1836 | Formed from Washington County and Unorganized | Tunica Native Americans | 9,157 | 480.8 sq mi (1,245 km$^2$) |
| Union County | 145 | New Albany | UN | 1870 | Formed from Lee, Pontotoc and Tippah Counties | Reunion of Confederacy with the United States | 28,363 | 416.9 sq mi (1,080 km$^2$) |
| Walthall County | 147 | Tylertown | WL | 1910 | Formed from Marion and Pike Counties | Edward Walthall (1831–1898), Confederate general and U.S. Senator | 13,839 | 404.3 sq mi (1,047 km$^2$) |
| Warren County | 149 | Vicksburg | WR | 1809 | Formed from Claiborne County and Unorganized | Joseph Warren (1741–1775), Founding Father and Revolutionary War general | 42,105 | 620.1 sq mi (1,606 km$^2$) |
| Washington County | 151 | Greenville | WS | 1827 | Formed from Warren and Yazoo Counties | George Washington (1732–1799), Founding Father and 1st U.S. President | 41,181 | 760.9 sq mi (1,971 km$^2$) |
| Wayne County | 153 | Waynesboro | WA | 1809 | Formed from Washington County (AL) | Anthony Wayne (1745–1796), Revolutionary War major general and Senior Officer of the United States Army | 19,749 | 813.5 sq mi (2,107 km$^2$) |
| Webster County | 155 | Walthall | WE | 1874 | Formed from Chickasaw, Choctaw and Montgomery Counties as Sumner County | Daniel Webster (1782–1852), 14th and 19th U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator | 10,039 | 422.8 sq mi (1,095 km$^2$) |
| Wilkinson County | 157 | Woodville | WK | 1802 | Formed from Adams County | James Wilkinson (1757–1825), Revolutionary War general, Senior Officer of the United States Army, and double agent for the Kingdom of Spain | 7,820 | 687.2 sq mi (1,780 km$^2$) |
| Winston County | 159 | Louisville | WI | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes, Madison, and Rankin Counties | Louis L. Winston (1784–1824), Mississippi Supreme Court justice | 17,418 | 610.1 sq mi (1,580 km$^2$) |
| Yalobusha County | 161 | Water Valley, Coffeeville | YA | 1833 | Formed from Monroe and Washington Counties and Unorganized | Yalobusha River, from Choctaw meaning "tadpole place" | 12,458 | 495 sq mi (1,282 km$^2$) |
| Yazoo County | 163 | Yazoo City | YZ | 1823 | Formed from Hinds County | Yazoo River, named for the Yazoo people | 23,024 | 933.9 sq mi (2,419 km$^2$) |

## Former counties

List of former counties :
| County | Established | Abolished | Notes | Ref. |
| Bainbridge County | January 17, 1823 | January 21, 1824 | Created from Covington County, it was eventually subsumed back into it a year later. | |
| Pearl County | February 21, 1872 | February 28, 1878 | Created from Hancock County, it gained territory from Marion County before being subsumed back into Hancock and Marion. Because of financial problems and a sparse population, Pearl County was abolished. | |