Named for Oliver Hazard Perry Congressional district 4th Founded 1820 Population 12,131 (2013) Unemployment rate 6.8% (Apr 2015) | Largest town Richton Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Area 1,684 km² County seat New Augusta | |
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Cities New Augusta, Richton, Beaumont Rivers Leaf River, Buck Creek, Cypress Creek | ||
Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,250. The county seat is New Augusta. The county is named after the War of 1812 naval hero, Oliver Hazard Perry.
Contents
- Map of Perry County MS USA
- Geography
- Major highways
- Adjacent counties
- National protected area
- Demographics
- Towns
- Unincorporated communities
- Notable people
- References
Map of Perry County, MS, USA
Perry County is part of the Hattiesburg, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Until 1906, the county seat was the old town of Augusta, near the center of the county on the east bank of the Leaf River. At Old Augusta, the outlaw James Copeland was executed by hanging on October 30, 1857. Old Augusta remains a small village today. New Augusta, two miles south of Old Augusta, was made the county seat of Perry County, because it was situated on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City Railroad.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 650 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 647 square miles (1,680 km2) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.5%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
National protected area
Demographics
As of the census 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.
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Notable people
Mitch Nobles was elected as Perry County sheriff in 2015. Nobles got 55 percent of the votes while his opponent got 45 percent of the vote. Nobles has been in law enforcement in Perry County for over 18 years. He served 8 years as a criminal investigator. Nobles received his education at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Ms. Nobles was elected over the former Sherriff of Perry County, Jimmy Dale Smith.