MISSISSIPPI
i
POPULATION—MISSISSIPPI
NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF INHABITANTS
Population of the State.—Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the twentieth State in December, 1S17. The Territory of Mississippi was organized in 179S. In 1S04, and again in 1812, its boundaries were extended. In March, 1S17, a part of its area was taken to form the new Territory of Alabama, leaving the boundaries of the Territory of Mississippi substantially the same as those of the present State.
The population of the State on April 1, 1930, according to the Fifteenth Census, was 2,009,821, which represents an increase of 219,203, or 12.2 per cent, as compared with the population on January T, 1920. The total land area of the State, as shown in Table 3, is 4G,3G2 square miles. The average number of inhabitants per square mile in 1930 was 43.4, as compared with 38.G in 1920.
Table 1 shows the population of Mississippi from 1S00, the year in which the Territory of Mississippi was first enumerated, to 1930, together with the increase during each decade.
Table 1.—Population of Mississippi: 1S00 to 1930
[A minus sign (-) denotes decrease]
CENSUS YEAR	Population	INCREASE OVER PRECEDING CENSUS	
		Number	Pcrcont
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
	3 8,850		
			
• Population shown for 1810 includes 9,01G returned for portion taken to form Alabama Territory iu 1817. J Population shown for 1S00 includes 1,250 returned for area now in Alabama.
Counties and minor civil divisions.—In the tables which follow (Tables 2 to 6), the population of Mississippi is shown by counties, cities, and incorporated towns and villages, with some comparative figures from previous censuses.
Cities of 10,000 or more.—There are 13 cities in Mississippi which had a population of 10,000 or more in 1930. Table 2 shows for these places the population at each census for which figures are available, together with the increase during each decade. Jackson, the capital and largest city, has a population of 48,282, which represents an increase of 25,465, or 111.6 per cent, since 1920. Meridian is the second largest city, with a population of 31,954, and Vicksburg, third, with 22,943 inhabitants. The other cities in this group, in the order of population, are Hattiesburg, Laurel, Biloxi, Greenville, Natchez, Gulfport, Greenwood. Columbus, McComb, and Clarksdalc.