county

Forrest County, MS

Demographic and economic profile of Forrest County, MS, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Forrest County is a regional hub anchored by healthcare and education, with a relatively young median age of 32.0 years and a labor force participation rate of 63.1% drawn from a population of 78,435. About 29.5% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, median worker earnings stand at $29,856, and the unemployment rate is 6.2%. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $152,900 and median gross rent of $960/month—though a poverty rate of 21.5% and per capita income of $29,525 reflect persistent income constraints despite 3.3% population growth over five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

78,435

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$53,640

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.3% since 2018

Forrest County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone44,272 (56.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone27,807 (35.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,153 (2.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race2,050 (2.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone909 (1.2%)
  • Asian Alone760 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,710
  2. 2.Vietnamese244
  3. 3.Other Indo-European201
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)173
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)59

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

63.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

13.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,864

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$47,860

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,525

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance9,685
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)5,015
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services4,817
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)3,267
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,218

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations12,831
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations8,581
  3. 3.Service Occupations6,110
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations5,721
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,066

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.54×)4,932
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.21×)4,822
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.13×)9,709
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.11×)1,913
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 0.95×)1,647

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$152,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$960/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

57.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,031 (11.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9992,004 (11.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,907 (11.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,612 (9.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,246 (7.2%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,197 (6.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

29.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

63.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$29,856

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone28,785 (80.6%)
  • Carpooled2,894 (8.1%)
  • Worked At Home1,440 (4.0%)
  • Other1,407 (3.9%)
  • Walked785 (2.2%)
  • Bicycle205 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.