Kemper County, MS

Micropolitan Statistical Area: Meridian, MS
Designated Market Area: Meridian, MS-AL
USDA County Type (2025): Low Employment, Persistent Poverty
American Communities Project County Type (2023): African American South

Places in Kemper County, MS [Sort places by name]

2024 population: 8,562 ( 425 from 2020)
Land area: 766.2 square miles
Population density: 11.2 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	2,819	32.92%	5.8%
Black:	5,176	60.45%	5.6%
Indian:	346	4.04%	0.3%
Asian:	26	0.30%	36.8%
2+ races:	101	1.18%	36.5%
Hispanic:	94	1.10%	28.8%

Total non-White:	5,743	67.08%	4.2%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	329	9.2
Deaths:	514	14.3
Net Migration:	-233	-6.5
Net Immigration:	-3	-0.1

Change in White population:	-174	-1.9
Change in Non-White pop.:	-251	-2.8

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
8,987
2,993	33.30%
5,481	60.99%
347	3.86%
19	0.21%
74	0.82%
73	0.81%
5,994	66.70%

2010
10,456
3,665	35.05%
6,273	59.99%
385	3.68%
10	0.10%
70	0.67%
52	0.50%
6,791	64.95%

2000
10,453
4,068	38.92%
6,028	57.67%
213	2.04%
8	0.08%
56	0.54%
76	0.73%
6,385	61.08%

1990
10,356
4,391	42.40%
5,736	55.39%
198	1.91%
17	0.16%
n/a
14	0.14%
5,965	57.60%

1980
10,148
4,575	45.08%
5,493	54.13%
44	0.43%
0	0.00%
n/a
36	0.35%
5,573	54.92%

1970
10,233
4,488	43.86%
5,612	54.84%
131	1.28%
2	0.02%
n/a
0	0.00%
5,745	56.14%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
820	7.8
938	9.0
-581	-5.6
-4	-0.0

-672	-6.4
-797	-7.6

Number	Rate
2000's
1,219	11.7
924	8.8
-883	-8.4
15	0.1

-403	-3.9
406	3.9

Number	Rate
1990's
1,340	12.9
1,052	10.2
-214	-2.1
13	0.1

-323	-3.1
420	4.1

Number	Rate
1980's
1,580	15.6
1,112	11.0
-257	-2.5
n/a

-184	-1.8
392	3.9

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
-992	-9.7
n/a

87	0.9
-172	-1.7

Age, Family & Household Data for Kemper County, MS

[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):

2022
Number	Percent
39.7
1,635	19.1%
6,927	80.9%
1,853	21.6%

3,143
2.55

2,133	67.9%
1,334	62.5%
279	13.1%
1,010	32.1%

2010
Number	Percent
38.5
2,441	23.3%
8,015	76.7%
1,635	15.6%

3,920
2.49

2,629	67.1%
1,643	62.5%
427	16.2%
1,291	32.9%

2000
Number	Percent
35.1
2,646	25.3%
7,807	74.7%
1,582	15.1%

3,907
2.57

2,811	71.9%
1,883	67.0%
448	15.9%
1,096	28.1%

1990
Number	Percent
31.9
3,054	29.5%
7,302	70.5%
1,629	15.7%

3,646
2.75

2,682	73.6%
1,897	70.7%
361	13.5%
964	26.4%

1980
Number	Percent
28.9
3,404	33.5%
6,744	66.5%
1,574	15.5%

3,244
3.11

2,603	80.2%
2,120	81.4%
170	6.5%
641	19.8%

2022 Housing Data for Kemper County, MS

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	370	11.8%
$10,000 to $14,999	189	6.0%
$15,000 to $19,999	146	4.6%
$20,000 to $24,999	337	10.7%
$25,000 to $29,999	135	4.3%
$30,000 to $34,999	77	2.4%
$35,000 to $39,999	117	3.7%
$40,000 to $44,999	290	9.2%
$45,000 to $49,999	255	8.1%
$50,000 to $59,999	174	5.5%
$60,000 to $74,999	338	10.8%
$75,000 to $99,999	281	8.9%
$100,000 to $124,999	154	4.9%
$125,000 to $149,999	37	1.2%
$150,000 to $199,999	149	4.7%
$200,000 or more	94	3.0%

Median Household Income	42,947
Per Capita Income	22,046

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	94
Compared to U.S.	69

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	217	6.9%
Public Assistance	2	0.1%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	508	16.2%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	2,896	51.2%
Unemployed	523	9.2%
In Armed Forces	0	0.0%

Total Labor Force	3,419	60.4%
Not in Labor Force	2,239	39.6%

Real Unemployment Rate		48.8%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	1,087	1,131	49.0%
Non-Profit	113	60	65.3%
Self-Employed	45	66	40.5%

Local Government	160	147	52.1%
State Government	65	131	33.2%
Federal Government	128	154	45.4%

Total Private + Self	1,132	1,197	48.6%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	466	492	48.6%
Total	1,598	1,689	48.6%

Pct. Govt.	23.9%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	488	14.8%
Sales and Office Occupations	522	15.9%
Professional, Technical	494	15.0%
Service Occupations	637	19.4%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	68	2.1%
All others	1,146	34.9%

White Collar		45.8%

Industry
	Number	%
Educational services	583	17.7%
Manufacturing	572	17.4%
Health care and social assistance	337	10.3%
Retail trade	273	8.3%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	264	8.0%
Public administration	194	5.9%
Transportation and warehousing	193	5.9%
Other services	172	5.2%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	154	4.7%
Accommodation and food services	142	4.3%
Wholesale trade	141	4.3%
Construction	115	3.5%
Professional, scientific, technical	41	1.2%
Utilities	41	1.2%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	38	1.2%
Finance and insurance	23	0.7%
Real estate and rental and leasing	4	0.1%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	25	0.28%
Puerto Rican	0	0.00%
Cuban	0	0.00%
Dominican	0	0.00%

Total Central American	7	0.08%
Costa Rican	0	0.00%
Guatemalan	0	0.00%
Honduran	0	0.00%
Nicaraguan	7	0.08%
Panamanian	0	0.00%
Salvadoran	0	0.00%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	0	0.00%
Argentinean	0	0.00%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	0	0.00%
Ecuadorian	0	0.00%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	0	0.00%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	0	0.00%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	36	0.40%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Indian	3	0.03%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	8,210	96.8%
Other	163	1.9%
Spanish	93	1.1%
French, Haitian, Cajun	9	0.1%
Other Indo-European	3	0.0%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
American	506	5.6%
Irish	320	3.6%
English	278	3.1%
German	176	2.0%
European	154	1.7%
Scottish	110	1.2%
Scotch-Irish	83	0.9%
Italian	63	0.7%
African	54	0.6%
British	43	0.5%
Nigerian	26	0.3%
Haitian	15	0.2%
Cajun	14	0.2%
French	9	0.1%
Portuguese	6	0.1%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	8,970	99.9%
Not a citizen	10	0.1%

Native	8,955	99.7%
Foreign-born	25	0.3%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
345	5.8%	841	14.2%	1,941	32.7%	1,822	30.7%	492	8.3%	489	8.2%
Average years of education: 12.7

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	345	5.8%
9-12 Years	841	14.2%
H.S. Grad or GED	1,941	32.7%
Some College	1,822	30.7%
Bach. Degree	492	8.3%
Grad Degree	489	8.2%
Average years of education: 12.7

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	4,273	3,842	431	10.1%	7.6%
1991	4,279	3,859	420	9.8%	8.4%
1992	4,174	3,717	457	10.9%	8.0%
1993	4,172	3,822	350	8.4%	6.7%
1994	4,216	3,881	335	7.9%	6.3%
1995	4,330	3,981	349	8.1%	6.2%
1996	4,274	3,937	337	7.9%	6.0%
1997	4,315	3,971	344	8.0%	5.7%
1998	4,414	4,009	405	9.2%	5.3%
1999	4,501	3,951	550	12.2%	5.1%

2000	4,386	4,027	359	8.2%	5.3%
2001	4,388	4,048	340	7.7%	5.5%
2002	4,286	3,892	394	9.2%	6.4%
2003	4,296	3,918	378	8.8%	6.1%
2004	4,285	3,920	365	8.5%	6.1%
2005	4,240	3,841	399	9.4%	7.6%
2006	4,088	3,763	325	8.0%	6.4%
2007	4,077	3,757	320	7.8%	6.2%
2008	3,987	3,658	329	8.3%	6.7%
2009	3,858	3,379	479	12.4%	9.4%

2010	3,909	3,348	561	14.4%	10.1%
2011	3,922	3,374	548	14.0%	9.8%
2012	4,011	3,494	517	12.9%	8.8%
2013	3,957	3,450	507	12.8%	8.5%
2014	3,741	3,259	482	12.9%	7.6%
2015	3,568	3,194	374	10.5%	6.5%
2016	3,540	3,225	315	8.9%	5.9%
2017	3,592	3,306	286	8.0%	5.2%
2018	3,570	3,297	273	7.6%	5.0%
2019	3,492	3,213	279	8.0%	5.5%

2020	3,423	3,093	330	9.6%	8.1%
2021	3,284	3,046	238	7.2%	5.5%
2022	3,251	3,059	192	5.9%	3.9%
2023	3,137	2,994	143	4.6%	3.2%
2024	3,272	3,133	139	4.2%	3.2%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	3,958
Median Value	$89,300

Occupied	3,143	79.4%
Vacant	815	20.6%

Owned	2,413	76.8%
Rented	730	23.2%
Median Rent	$475

Single-Family Units	2,858	72.2%
Detached	2,828	71.5%
Attached	30	0.8%
Buldings with 5+ Units	148	3.7%
Mobile Homes	797	20.1%

Kemper County, MS

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Kemper County, MS

2022 Housing Data for Kemper County, MS

2022 Income & Employment Data for Kemper County, MS

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Kemper County, MS

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Kemper County, MS

Historical Labor Force Data for Kemper County, MS