county

Perry County, MS

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

AI Overview

Perry County, MS has a small labor pool of roughly 11,459 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 49.9%, an unemployment rate of 6.2%, and only 11.4% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, pointing to a workforce oriented toward trades and manual occupations rather than knowledge-sector roles. Worker earnings are modest, with a median of $35,465 and a per capita income of $25,950, while housing costs remain low—median home value of $126,000 and median gross rent of $650/month—against an 81.5% homeownership rate. The county has shed 4.7% of its population over five years, carries an 18.1% poverty rate, and posts a GDP per capita of $27,316, reflecting a rural economy under sustained demographic and economic pressure.

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

Population

11,459

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$49,634

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.7% since 2018

Perry County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone8,873 (77.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,758 (15.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races374 (3.3%)
  • Asian Alone239 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race161 (1.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone27 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)265
  2. 2.Spanish127
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic17

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

654

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$27,316

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$25,950

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,284
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)539
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)523
  4. 4.Construction (Group)440
  5. 5.Other Services, Except Public Administration (Group)368

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,010
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations997
  3. 3.Service Occupations980
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations701
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations638

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.28×)149
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.78×)344
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.65×)468
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.63×)315
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.14×)1,095

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$126,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$650/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $250,000 to $299,999419 (11.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999368 (9.7%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999363 (9.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999319 (8.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999297 (7.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999266 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

11.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

49.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,465

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,422 (79.4%)
  • Carpooled548 (12.7%)
  • Other131 (3.0%)
  • Walked84 (1.9%)
  • Worked At Home64 (1.5%)
  • Public Transit61 (1.4%)

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.