Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. According to the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, Mississippi is the 32nd-most populous state, with inhabitants and the 31st largest by land area, spanning of land. Mississippi is divided into 82

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and contains 300

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, consisting of cities, towns, and villages. Mississippi's municipalities cover of the state's land mass and are home to of its population. Municipalities in Mississippi are classified according to population size. At time of incorporation, municipalities with populations of more than 2,000 are classified as cities, municipalities containing between 301 and 2000 persons are classified as towns, and municipalities between 100 and 300 persons are classified as villages. Places may be incorporated to become a city, town, or village through a petition signed by two-thirds of the qualified voters who reside in the proposed municipality. The major function of municipal governments are to provide services for its citizens such as maintaining roads and bridges, providing law, fire protection, and health and sanitation services. , the largest municipality by population in Mississippi is

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, with 153,701 residents, and the smallest is Satartia, with 41 residents. The largest municipality by land area is Jackson, which spans , while

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

is the smallest, at . The city of

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

is the oldest municipality in Mississippi, incorporated on March 10, 1803, and the city of Gluckstadt is the state's newest municipality, incorporated in June 2021.

List of municipalities

JacksonMS Downtown Panorama.jpg, alt=Downtown Jackson, Mississippi, Downtown

, the capital and largest city by population in Mississippi Gulfport,_Mississippi_Skyline_(2022).jpg, alt=Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport, the second largest city by population in Mississippi Southaven Towne Center Mall.JPG, alt=Southaven Towne Center Mall,

Southaven Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi and the second most populous ...

, suburb of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

and third largest city in Mississippi by population Biloxi123.JPG, alt=Biloxi, Mississippi,

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

, Mississippi's fourth largest city by population University of Southern Mississippi Hardy Street.jpg, alt=Hattiesburg, Mississippi,

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

, Mississippi's fifth largest city by population

Notes

References

{{featured list Mississippi, List of cities in

Cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

List of municipalities

See also

Notes

References