County profile

Pearl River 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
57,458
Median household income
$58,135
People below poverty
16.5%
Median home value
$182,300

Income

The median income of households in Pearl River County, Mississippi was $58,135. An estimated 6.5% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 5.7% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 6.5
$10,000 to $14,999 6.4
$15,000 to $24,999 9.6
$25,000 to $34,999 8.7
$35,000 to $49,999 12.6
$50,000 to $74,999 17.1
$75,000 to $99,999 14.4
$100,000 to $149,999 13.2
$150,000 to $199,999 5.7
$200,000 or more 5.7

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

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Dollars
Male 54587
Female 38588

An estimated 66.7% of households received earnings. An estimated 40.7% of households received Social Security and an estimated 28.8 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $21,636. 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 Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 66.7
Social Security 40.7
Retirement income 28.8
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 8.3
Cash public assistance income 2

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 16.5 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 20.5% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 13.9% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 15.8% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 16.5
Children under 18 years below poverty 20.5
People 65 years old and over below poverty 13.9
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 15.8

In 2020-2024, 13.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 46.2% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 37.7% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 36.3% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024, 87.1% had health insurance coverage and 12.9% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 58.7% and public coverage was 45.6%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 6.7%.


In 2020-2024, Pearl River County, Mississippi had a total population of 57,458 - 29,137 (50.7%) females and 28,321 (49.3%) males. The median age was 41.6 years. An estimated 22.9% of the population was under 18 years, 28.8% was 19 to 44 years, 25.9% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.6 % was 65 years and older.

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

Male Female
Under 5 1710 1583
5 to 9 1878 1813
10 to 14 1972 1823
15 to 19 1937 2034
20 to 24 1729 1644
25 to 29 1676 1574
30 to 34 1464 1590
35 to 39 1402 1643
40 to 44 1883 1925
45 to 49 1832 1824
50 to 54 1768 1718
55 to 59 1643 1868
60 to 64 2268 2011
65 to 69 1496 1548
70 to 74 1689 1990
75 to 79 934 1211
80 to 84 592 816
85 and over 448 522

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 79.9% were White; 12% were Black or African American; 17.6% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.3% were Asian; 6.5% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.6% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 4.3% of the people in Pearl River County, Mississippi were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 79.1% of the people in Pearl River County, Mississippi were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 21,880 households in Pearl River County, Mississippi. The average household size was 2.57 people.

Married-couple households made up 48% of the households in Pearl River County, Mississippi while cohabiting couple households made up 6.3% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 25.7% of all households, while 20% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 15% of households were male householders living alone, and 13.4% were female householders living alone, for a total of 28.4% of all households.

In Pearl River County, Mississippi, 30.7% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 37.2% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 48
Cohabiting Couples 6.3
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
20
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
25.7

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 47.6% of males and 48.4% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 31.6 25.8
Now married, except separated 47.6 48.4
Separated 3.6 2.1
Widowed 5.3 10.7
Divorced 11.8 13

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Pearl River County, Mississippi, 1,600 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 60% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.1% of the people living in Pearl River County, Mississippi were U.S. natives. 41.7% of the Pearl River County, Mississippi population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.9% of Pearl River County, Mississippi residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 55.1% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 61.6 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Pearl River 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 Pearl River County, Mississippi.

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

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Percent
Latin America 55.3
Asia 21.4
Europe 14.9
Africa 2.2
Northern America 6.2
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024, 3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 2.4% of people at least five years old; 1.2% 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 Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 2.4
Other Indo-European languages 0.6
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 91.6 % of the people at least one year old living in Pearl River County, Mississippi were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 91.6
Different house, same county 4
Different county, same state 1.6
Different state 2.3
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 88.4 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 17% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 11.6% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Pearl River County, Mississippi was 13,242 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 416 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 9,628. College or graduate school enrollment was 3,198.

Educational Attainment of People in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 11.6
High school diploma or equivalency 35.3
Some college, no degree 24.3
Associate's degree 11.9
Bachelor's degree 12.2
Graduate or professional degree 4.7

Disability

In Pearl River County, Mississippi, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 21.2 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5.3% of people under 18 years old, to 18.5% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 48.3% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Pearl River County, Mississippi, 52.6 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 43.9% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 78.5% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.8% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 7.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 19,007 78.5
Federal, state, or local government workers 3,338 13.8
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,801 7.4

Industries

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

Percent by Industry in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 2
Construction 9.1
Manufacturing 8.5
Wholesale trade 1.2
Retail trade 16.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 6.8
Information 1.1
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.3
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 11.9
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 7.3
Other Services, except public administration 5.9
Public administration 3.2

Occupations

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

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 7,554 31.2
Service occupations 4,431 18.3
Sales and office occupations 4,761 19.7
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 2,842 11.7
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 4,614 19.1

Commuting to Work

An estimated 76.9% of Pearl River County, Mississippi workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 10.7% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 35.4 minutes to get to work.

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

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 76.9
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 10.7
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0
Walked 1.6
Other means 2
Worked from home 8.8

In 2020-2024, Pearl River County, Mississippi had a total of 25,442 housing units. Of these housing units, 72.4% 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"). 8.7% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 18.2% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 72.4
Apartments in multi-unit structures 8.7
Mobile homes 18.2
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.7

10.7% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 2.6% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Pearl River County, Mississippi was 5.6 rooms, and of these housing units 70.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Pearl River County, Mississippi had 21,880 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 3,562 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 80.4% while renters occupied 19.6%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.57 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.57.

3.6% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 11.9% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 3.8% and another 26.5% had three or more vehicles available for use.

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

House Heating Fuel Used in Pearl River County, Mississippi in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 9.9
Electricity 87.8
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.1
All other fuels 1.3
No fuel used 0.8

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Pearl River County, Mississippi was $182,300.

Of the owner-occupied households, 43.6 % had a mortgage. 56.4% 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 $1,407 and for owners without a mortgage it was $437.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Pearl River County, Mississippi was $906. 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.