2024 population: 168,000 ( 4,970 from 2020)
Land area: 5126.6 square miles
Population density: 32.8 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	86,850	51.70%	4.0%
Black:	67,549	40.21%	3.5%
Indian:	6,496	3.87%	0.0%
Asian:	1,273	0.76%	16.4%
2+ races:	2,234	1.33%	20.0%
Hispanic:	3,598	2.14%	17.5%

Total non-White:	81,150	48.30%	1.7%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	8,850	12.8
Deaths:	10,625	15.4
Net Migration:	-3,797	-5.5
Net Immigration:	621	0.9

Change in White population:	-3,597	-2.1
Change in Non-White pop.:	-1,373	-0.8

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
172,970
90,447	52.29%
70,009	40.47%
6,497	3.76%
1,094	0.63%
1,861	1.08%
3,062	1.77%
82,523	47.71%

2010
186,467
100,051	53.66%
75,158	40.31%
6,430	3.45%
831	0.45%
1,352	0.73%
2,547	1.37%
86,416	46.34%

2000
187,811
107,435	57.20%
71,789	38.22%
5,113	2.72%
556	0.30%
956	0.51%
1,886	1.00%
80,376	42.80%

1990
180,507
108,472	60.09%
66,783	37.00%
4,219	2.34%
430	0.24%
n/a
603	0.33%
72,035	39.91%

1980
181,858
112,742	61.99%
63,668	35.01%
3,046	1.67%
550	0.30%
n/a
1,710	0.94%
69,116	38.01%

1970
165,717
103,515	62.46%
59,061	35.64%
2,242	1.35%
199	0.12%
n/a
657	0.40%
62,202	37.54%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
21,096	11.3
19,834	10.6
-13,752	-7.4
546	0.3

-9,604	-5.2
-3,893	-2.1

Number	Rate
2000's
25,640	13.7
19,501	10.4
-7,308	-3.9
233	0.1

-7,384	-3.9
6,040	3.2

Number	Rate
1990's
27,880	15.4
20,144	11.2
-3,679	-2.0
314	0.2

-1,037	-0.6
8,341	4.6

Number	Rate
1980's
29,674	16.3
19,261	10.6
-10,682	-5.9
n/a

-4,270	-2.3
2,919	1.6

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
-335	-0.2
n/a

9,227	5.6
6,914	4.2

Age, Family & Household Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2024
Number	Percent
39.8
39,417	23.5%
128,583	76.5%
32,584	19.4%

65,949
2.46

43,303	65.7%
27,945	64.5%
5,873	13.6%
22,646	34.3%

2010
Number	Percent
37.7
47,026	25.2%
139,441	74.8%
27,505	14.8%

72,308
2.49

48,814	67.5%
31,464	64.5%
7,622	15.6%
23,494	32.5%

2000
Number	Percent
35.3
50,550	26.9%
137,261	73.1%
27,059	14.4%

71,856
2.53

50,617	70.4%
35,179	69.5%
7,431	14.7%
21,239	29.6%

1990
Number	Percent
32.1
51,872	28.7%
128,635	71.3%
25,474	14.1%

65,960
2.66

48,487	73.5%
35,619	73.5%
6,151	12.7%
17,473	26.5%

1980
Number	Percent
29.4
57,203	31.5%
124,655	68.5%
24,707	13.6%

61,582
2.88

47,524	77.2%
38,449	80.9%
4,142	8.7%
14,058	22.8%

2024 Housing Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	5,653	8.6%
$10,000 to $14,999	4,371	6.6%
$15,000 to $19,999	4,630	7.0%
$20,000 to $24,999	3,849	5.8%
$25,000 to $29,999	3,568	5.4%
$30,000 to $34,999	3,027	4.6%
$35,000 to $39,999	2,860	4.3%
$40,000 to $44,999	2,823	4.3%
$45,000 to $49,999	2,356	3.6%
$50,000 to $59,999	4,784	7.3%
$60,000 to $74,999	6,500	9.9%
$75,000 to $99,999	6,751	10.2%
$100,000 to $124,999	5,343	8.1%
$125,000 to $149,999	3,711	5.6%
$150,000 to $199,999	3,344	5.1%
$200,000 or more	2,379	3.6%

Median Household Income	49,592
Per Capita Income	27,603

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to U.S.	71

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	6,044	9.2%
Public Assistance	1,241	1.9%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	11,928	18.1%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	60,540	59.9%
Unemployed	4,611	4.6%
In Armed Forces	1,079	1.1%

Total Labor Force	66,230	65.6%
Not in Labor Force	34,784	34.4%

Real Unemployment Rate		39.0%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	22,212	19,947	52.7%
Non-Profit	1,608	2,551	38.7%
Self-Employed	3,394	2,233	60.3%

Local Government	2,680	3,531	43.1%
State Government	2,299	3,137	42.3%
Federal Government	1,593	1,403	53.2%

Total Private + Self	25,606	22,180	53.6%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	8,180	10,622	43.5%
Total	33,786	32,802	50.7%

Pct. Govt.	22.0%
Pct. Private + Self	71.8%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	7,602	11.4%
Sales and Office Occupations	13,603	20.4%
Professional, Technical	15,029	22.5%
Service Occupations	11,053	16.6%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	734	1.1%
All others	19,465	29.2%

White Collar		54.3%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	11,005	16.5%
Manufacturing	8,928	13.4%
Educational services	8,415	12.6%
Retail trade	7,195	10.8%
Accommodation and food services	4,529	6.8%
Public administration	3,771	5.6%
Construction	3,616	5.4%
Transportation and warehousing	3,549	5.3%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	2,604	3.9%
Other services	2,383	3.6%
Finance and insurance	1,963	2.9%
Professional, scientific, technical	1,746	2.6%
Wholesale trade	1,584	2.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	1,548	2.3%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	1,354	2.0%
Utilities	843	1.3%
Real estate and rental and leasing	719	1.1%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	509	0.8%
Information	454	0.7%
Management	37	0.1%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	1,639	0.97%
Puerto Rican	263	0.15%
Cuban	117	0.07%
Dominican	99	0.06%

Total Central American	165	0.10%
Costa Rican	0	0.00%
Guatemalan	87	0.05%
Honduran	37	0.02%
Nicaraguan	8	0.00%
Panamanian	6	0.00%
Salvadoran	27	0.02%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	324	0.19%
Argentinean	4	0.00%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	64	0.04%
Ecuadorian	59	0.03%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	65	0.04%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	132	0.08%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	361	0.21%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Indian	197	0.12%
Filipino	185	0.11%
Chinese	158	0.09%
Vietnamese	121	0.07%
Japanese	89	0.05%
Cambodian	56	0.03%
Thai	42	0.02%
Korean	26	0.02%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	152,123	95.5%
Other	3,128	2.0%
Spanish	1,914	1.2%
Arabic	669	0.4%
Other Asian	313	0.2%
Other Indo-European	272	0.2%
Tagalog	178	0.1%
Chinese	167	0.1%
Korean	158	0.1%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
American	20,854	12.3%
English	15,935	9.4%
Irish	10,967	6.5%
German	5,904	3.5%
Scotch-Irish	2,192	1.3%
Scottish	2,036	1.2%
European	1,665	1.0%
Italian	1,626	1.0%
African	1,123	0.7%
French	1,091	0.6%
Dutch	655	0.4%
Polish	388	0.2%
Welsh	378	0.2%
French Canadian	320	0.2%
Nigerian	318	0.2%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	168,726	99.3%
Not a citizen	1,104	0.7%

Native	167,669	98.7%
Foreign-born	2,161	1.3%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
4,681	4.1%	10,934	9.6%	36,635	32.2%	38,250	33.7%	13,401	11.8%	9,757	8.6%
Average years of education: 13.0

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	4,681	4.1%
9-12 Years	10,934	9.6%
H.S. Grad or GED	36,635	32.2%
Some College	38,250	33.7%
Bach. Degree	13,401	11.8%
Grad Degree	9,757	8.6%
Average years of education: 13.0

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	80,758	74,507	6,251	7.7%
1991	81,626	75,073	6,553	8.0%
1992	81,458	74,836	6,622	8.1%
1993	81,912	76,122	5,790	7.1%
1994	82,323	76,778	5,545	6.7%
1995	85,406	79,854	5,552	6.5%
1996	85,449	79,946	5,503	6.4%
1997	84,998	79,722	5,276	6.2%
1998	84,218	79,125	5,093	6.0%
1999	83,764	78,168	5,596	6.7%

2000	81,209	76,157	5,052	6.2%
2001	79,168	74,213	4,955	6.3%
2002	79,894	73,857	6,037	7.6%
2003	80,427	74,787	5,640	7.0%
2004	80,331	74,868	5,463	6.8%
2005	79,718	74,150	5,568	7.0%
2006	77,780	73,236	4,544	5.8%
2007	77,483	72,645	4,838	6.2%
2008	77,254	71,888	5,366	6.9%
2009	75,082	67,528	7,554	10.1%

2010	75,318	67,042	8,276	11.0%
2011	76,875	68,817	8,058	10.5%
2012	77,110	69,999	7,111	9.2%
2013	75,324	68,831	6,493	8.6%
2014	71,824	66,133	5,691	7.9%
2015	69,939	64,978	4,961	7.1%
2016	69,844	65,312	4,532	6.5%
2017	70,136	66,101	4,035	5.8%
2018	68,766	65,079	3,687	5.4%
2019	68,052	64,148	3,904	5.7%

2020	66,665	61,380	5,285	7.9%
2021	65,412	61,870	3,542	5.4%
2022	64,446	61,721	2,725	4.2%
2023	62,865	60,663	2,202	3.5%
2024	66,462	64,168	2,294	3.5%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	79,976
Median Value	$117,126

Occupied	65,949	82.5%
Vacant	14,027	17.5%

Owned	47,807	72.5%
Rented	18,142	27.5%
Median Rent	$820

Single-Family Units	52,780	66.0%
Detached	51,996	65.0%
Attached	784	1.0%
Buldings with 5+ Units	4,716	5.9%
Mobile Homes	17,805	22.3%

Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

2024 Housing Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

2024 Income & Employment Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

2024 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

2024 Educational Attainment Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area

Historical Labor Force Data for Meridian, MS-AL Market Area