County profile

Lee County

Mississippi · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
83,034
Median household income
$67,863
People below poverty
14.6%
Median home value
$199,500

Income

The median income of households in Lee County, Mississippi was $67,863. An estimated 6.7% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 7.1% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 6.7
$10,000 to $14,999 4.9
$15,000 to $24,999 8.6
$25,000 to $34,999 8.2
$35,000 to $49,999 10.9
$50,000 to $74,999 14.6
$75,000 to $99,999 13.7
$100,000 to $149,999 19.2
$150,000 to $199,999 6.1
$200,000 or more 7.1

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 56941
Female 42718

An estimated 75.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 32.2% of households received Social Security and an estimated 23.7 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,356. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 75.9
Social Security 32.2
Retirement income 23.7
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 6
Cash public assistance income 1.5

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 14.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 18% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 12% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.8% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 14.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 18
People 65 years old and over below poverty 12
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.8

In 2020-2024, 10.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 48% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 26.2% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 33.4% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024, 89.1% had health insurance coverage and 10.9% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 66.3% and public coverage was 34.1%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 6.8%.


In 2020-2024, Lee County, Mississippi had a total population of 83,034 - 43,477 (52.4%) females and 39,557 (47.6%) males. The median age was 37.5 years. An estimated 25% of the population was under 18 years, 32.1% was 19 to 44 years, 25% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.8 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 2700 2523
5 to 9 2784 2652
10 to 14 3114 3186
15 to 19 2791 2814
20 to 24 2593 2444
25 to 29 2565 2799
30 to 34 2552 3023
35 to 39 2915 2862
40 to 44 2234 2606
45 to 49 2394 2732
50 to 54 2600 2704
55 to 59 2261 2491
60 to 64 2593 2972
65 to 69 1728 2401
70 to 74 1729 1917
75 to 79 1188 1410
80 to 84 406 1140
85 and over 410 801

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 63% were White; 30% were Black or African American; 15.8% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1% were Asian; 19.4% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 3.4% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 3.5% of the people in Lee County, Mississippi were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 62.5% of the people in Lee County, Mississippi were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 32,591 households in Lee County, Mississippi. The average household size was 2.51 people.

Married-couple households made up 48.7% of the households in Lee County, Mississippi while cohabiting couple households made up 3.6% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 31.7% of all households, while 16.1% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 11.2% of households were male householders living alone, and 17.4% were female householders living alone, for a total of 28.6% of all households.

In Lee County, Mississippi, 32.1% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 28.9% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 48.7
Cohabiting Couples 3.6
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
16.1
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
31.7

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 53.1% of males and 48.3% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 32.7 26.4
Now married, except separated 53.1 48.3
Separated 1.1 2.8
Widowed 2.3 9.2
Divorced 10.9 13.4

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Lee County, Mississippi, 1,849 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 62.1% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 97.6% of the people living in Lee County, Mississippi were U.S. natives. 76.6% of the Lee County, Mississippi population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 2.4% of Lee County, Mississippi residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 29.5% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 65.7 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Lee County, Mississippi come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Lee County, Mississippi.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 52.4
Asia 32.1
Europe 10.2
Africa 4.8
Northern America 0.5
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024, 4.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 2.5% of people at least five years old; 1.7% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 2.5
Other Indo-European languages 0.6
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.9
Other languages 0.2

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 92.5 % of the people at least one year old living in Lee County, Mississippi were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 92.5
Different house, same county 3.6
Different county, same state 2.8
Different state 1
Abroad 0.2

Education

In 2020-2024, 87.6 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 28.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 12.4% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Lee County, Mississippi was 20,698 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 1,489 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 15,072. College or graduate school enrollment was 4,137.

Educational Attainment of People in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 12.4
High school diploma or equivalency 28.4
Some college, no degree 20.5
Associate's degree 10.1
Bachelor's degree 17.9
Graduate or professional degree 10.7

Disability

In Lee County, Mississippi, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 14 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5% of people under 18 years old, to 12.9% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 33% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Lee County, Mississippi, 58.7 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 37.7% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 82% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 11.8% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 6 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 31,333 82
Federal, state, or local government workers 4,509 11.8
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 2,304 6

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Lee County, Mississippi worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.3
Construction 5.2
Manufacturing 21.3
Wholesale trade 1.3
Retail trade 11.8
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.8
Information 1.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.6
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 8.3
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 24.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 7
Other Services, except public administration 4.2
Public administration 2.2

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 14,379 37.6
Service occupations 4,181 10.9
Sales and office occupations 8,393 22
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 2,996 7.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 8,258 21.6

Commuting to Work

An estimated 86% of Lee County, Mississippi workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.1% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 20.8 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 86
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.1
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.2
Walked 0.5
Other means 1
Worked from home 5.4

In 2020-2024, Lee County, Mississippi had a total of 37,654 housing units. Of these housing units, 73.3% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 15.8% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 10.9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 73.3
Apartments in multi-unit structures 15.8
Mobile homes 10.9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

14% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 3.5% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Lee County, Mississippi was 5.9 rooms, and of these housing units 69.3% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Lee County, Mississippi had 32,591 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 5,063 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 70.8% while renters occupied 29.2%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.64 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.22.

3.3% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 10% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 6% and another 24.5% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Lee County, Mississippi:

House Heating Fuel Used in Lee County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 47.5
Electricity 51.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.3
All other fuels 0.2
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Lee County, Mississippi was $199,500.

Of the owner-occupied households, 60.1 % had a mortgage. 39.9% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,335 and for owners without a mortgage it was $438.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Lee County, Mississippi was $957. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.