Hinds County, Mississippi
County in Mississippi, United States
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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.
Etymology
The county is named for General Thomas Hinds, a hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.
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Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 877 square miles (2,270 km2), of which 870 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km2) (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.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 227,742. The median age was 37.7 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 25.8% White, 69.4% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.
82.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 17.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 92,774 households in the county, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.2% were married-couple households, 23.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 41.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 106,134 housing units, of which 12.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.1% were owner-occupied and 41.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.
Racial and ethnic composition
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 54.0% of the population in 1980 to about 25.5% of the population in 2020. Since the 1990 census, the county's population has been majority Black or African American as detailed above.
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.
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)
- 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