Monticello is a town in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Lawrence County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,571 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Monticello is in central Lawrence County, on the west side of the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

runs through the north side of the town on a four-lane bypass. US 84 leads east to Prentiss and west to

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

in Brookhaven.

Mississippi Highway 27 Mississippi Highway 27 (MS 27) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs from south to north for across the western and south-central parts of the state, serving 5 counties: Walthall, Lawrence, Copiah, Hinds, and Warren. The segment between ...

passes through the west side of Monticello, leading north to Crystal Springs and south to Tylertown. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town of Monticello has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.17%, are water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of 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 ...

, there were 1,441 people, 640 households, and 350 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,726 people, 690 households, and 451 families residing in the town. The population density was 530.4 people per square mile (205.1/km²). There were 754 housing units at an average density of 231.7 per square mile (89.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 64.19%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 34.18%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.98%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.64% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.06% of the population. There were 690 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 77.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,109, and the median income for a family was $40,063. Males had a median income of $36,429 versus $16,538 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,013. About 23.3% of families and 27.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.2% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Monticello is served by the Lawrence County School District. The district is under the supervision of Superintendent Tammy Fairburn, who took office in 2012.Lawrence County District Superintendent
Retrieved December 4, 2014

Notable people

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Major Everett Major Donel Everett (born January 4, 1960, in New Hebron, Mississippi) is a former American football professional running back in the National Football League for five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons ...

, former NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

* Mark Green,

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Al Jefferson Al Ricardo Jefferson (born January 4, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a high school All-American for Prentiss High School in Mississippi before skipping college to enter the 2004 NBA draft, where he was drafted 1 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for the NBA

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

Kendra King Kendra is a female name of disputed origins. Kendra is a moderately popular female first name, ranking 403 out of 4275 for females of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. The name was at its most popular in the United States from the mid-1980s to mi ...

, Miss Mississippi USA 2006 * J. B. Lenoir,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer *

Rod Paige Roderick Raynor Paige (born June 17, 1933) served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, moved from college football coach and classroom teacher to college dean and school superinten ...

, former

U.S. Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities rel ...

Byther Smith Byther Claude Earl John Smith (April 17, 1932 – September 10, 2021) was an American blues musician who worked with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Otis Rush and Junior Wells. Biography Early life Born in Monticello, Mississippi, Unit ...

singer

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Towns in Lawrence County, Mississippi County seats in Mississippi