Perry County, Mississippi

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Perry County, Mississippi
Map
Location in the state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1820
Seat	New Augusta
Largest Town	Richton
Area - Total - Land - Water	650 sq mi (1,683 km²) 647 sq mi (1,676 km²) 3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.46%
Population - (2000) - Density	12,138 18/sq mi (7/km²)

Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population is 12,138. Its county seat is New Augusta^[1]. It was named after the War of 1812 naval hero, Oliver Hazard Perry.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent counties
2 Demographics
3 Communities
4 References

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 650 square miles (1,684 km²), of which, 647 square miles (1,676 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.46%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Wayne County (northeast)
Greene County (east)
George County (southeast)
Stone County (south)
Forrest County (west)
Jones County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1820	2,037	—
1830	2,300	12.9%
1840	1,889	-17.9%
1850	2,438	29.1%
1860	2,606	6.9%
1870	2,694	3.4%
1880	3,427	27.2%
1890	6,494	89.5%
1900	14,682	126.1%
1910	7,685	-47.7%
1920	8,987	16.9%
1930	8,197	-8.8%
1940	9,292	13.4%
1950	9,108	-2.0%
1960	8,745	-4.0%
1970	9,065	3.7%
1980	9,864	8.8%
1990	10,865	10.1%
2000	12,138	11.7%
Est. 2007	12,205	0.6%

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 12,138 people, 4,420 households, and 3,332 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 5,107 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.17% White, 22.59% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. 1.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,420 households out of which 37.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 13.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,189, and the median income for a family was $32,791. Males had a median income of $29,130 versus $18,632 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,837. About 19.60% of families and 22.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.60% of those under age 18 and 25.50% of those age 65 or over.