Stone County, Mississippi

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Stone County, Mississippi
Map
Location in the state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1916
Seat	Wiggins
Largest city	Wiggins
Area - Total - Land - Water	448 sq mi (1,160 km²) 445 sq mi (1,153 km²) 3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.60%
Population - (2000) - Density	13,622 31/sq mi (12/km²)

Stone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Its county seat is Wiggins^[1]. Stone County was formed from the northern portion of Harrison County on June 5, 1916.^[2] The county was named for John M. Stone, the Governor of Mississippi from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896.

Stone County is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent counties
2 Demographics
3 Communities
4 References

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 448 square miles (1,160 km²), of which, 445 square miles (1,154 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.60%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

U.S. Highway 49
Mississippi Highway 15
Mississippi Highway 26
Mississippi Highway 39
Mississippi Highway 38

[edit] Adjacent counties

Perry County (northeast)
George County (east)
Jackson County (southeast)
Harrison County (south)
Pearl River County (west)
Forrest County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	6,528	—
1930	5,704	-12.6%
1940	6,155	7.9%
1950	6,264	1.8%
1960	7,013	12.0%
1970	8,101	15.5%
1980	9,716	19.9%
1990	10,750	10.6%
2000	13,622	26.7%
Est. 2007	15,731	15.5%

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 13,622 people, 4,747 households, and 3,626 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 5,343 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.42% White, 19.18% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,747 households out of which 37.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.60% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.90% 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 3.13.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 12.20% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% 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 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,495, and the median income for a family was $36,856. Males had a median income of $26,259 versus $21,228 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,693. About 14.50% of families and 17.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.10% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over. Since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 the population of Stone county has increased by about 40% overall in previously undeveloped areas such as the Beatrice community which now has several new property owners and homes. Industry in the area is at a standstill or decreasing due to lack of natural resources exlcuding timber and distance of travel being situated in a rural geographical area compared to other Mississippi coastal counties.