Madison County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,145. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Canton. The county is named for

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

and

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. Madison County is part of the

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.7%) is water. The southeastern border of the county is defined by the old course of the

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

before it was dammed to create the

Ross Barnett Reservoir The Ross Barnett Reservoir, often called the Rez, is a reservoir of the Pearl River between Madison and Rankin counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The lake serves as the state's largest drinking water resource, and is managed by the P ...

. In 1828 that part of

Yazoo County, Mississippi Yazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,743, and was estimated to be 23,024 in 2024. The county seat is Yazoo City. It is named for the Yazoo River, which forms its weste ...

east of the

Big Black River (Mississippi) Big Black River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi and a tributary of the Mississippi River. Its origin is in Webster County near the town of Eupora in the north central part of the state. From there it flows in a generally southwest d ...

was organized as Madison County. The boundaries of the county are set in Mississippi Code section 19-1-89 as: Madison County is bounded by beginning at a point on Big Black River, where the same crosses the center line in township twelve, range three, east; thence east to the old Choctaw boundary line; thence north on said boundary line to the center line of township twelve, range five, east; thence through the center of said township twelve, range five, east, to the range line between townships five and six, east; thence south on said range line to Pearl River; thence down said river, with its meanderings, to the line between townships six and seven, north; thence west on said township line to the basis meridian of the Choctaw survey; thence north on said meridian line to the line between townships seven and eight, north; thence west on said township line to the line between ranges two and three, west; thence north on said range line to Big Black River; thence up said river, with its meanderings, to the beginning.

Major highways

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 ...

Interstate 220 * US 49

U.S. Highway 49 * US 51

U.S. Highway 51 * Circle sign 16

Mississippi Highway 16 Mississippi Highway 16 (MS 16) is a state highway in central Mississippi. It runs east–west for , from the Mississippi Delta region to the Alabama state line. MS 16 serves 8 counties: Issaquena, Sharkey, Yazoo, Humphreys, Madison, Leak ...

Mississippi Highway 17 Mississippi Highway 17 (MS 17) is a state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintaine ...

Mississippi Highway 22 Mississippi Highway 22 (MS 22) is a state highway in central Mississippi, United States. It runs from east to west for approximately , serving only two counties: Madison County, MS, Madison and Hinds County, MS, Hinds, while connecting the tow ...

Mississippi Highway 43 Mississippi Highway 43 (MS 43) is a state highway in Mississippi that generally runs north–south in three segments: the first from US 90 near Bay St. Louis to MS 13 south of Columbia, resuming at MS 13 in southern Jefferson Davis Co ...

Natchez Trace Parkway The Natchez Trace Parkway is a limited-access national parkway in the Southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Natchez Trace and preserves sections of that original trail. Its central feature is a two-lane road that extends 44 ...

Adjacent counties

* Attala County (north) * Leake County (east) *

Scott County Scott County is the name of eleven counties in the United States of America: *Scott County, Arkansas *Scott County, Illinois *Scott County, Indiana *Scott County, Iowa, the most populous county on the list *Scott County, Kansas, the least populous ...

(southeast) * Rankin County (south) *

Hinds County Hinds County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond, Mississippi, Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Missis ...

(southwest) * Yazoo County (west)

National protected area

(part)

History

Madison County was the site of the Mississippi Slave Insurrection Scare of 1835 at Beatties Bluff.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 109,145 people, 40,046 households, and 28,374 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 74,674 people, 27,219 households, and 19,325 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 28,781 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 60.29%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 37.48%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 1.30% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.27% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. 0.99% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 27,219 households, out of which 37.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.23. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $46,970, and the median income for a family was $58,172. Males had a median income of $41,460 versus $29,170 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $23,469. About 10.60% of families and 14.00% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 13.20% of those age 65 or over. Madison County has the highest per capita income in the State of Mississippi. It is the only county in Mississippi with a per capita income higher than the national average.

Communities

Cities

* Canton (county seat) * Gluckstadt *

(mostly in

, also in Rankin County) *

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

* Ridgeland

Town

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Census-designated place

* Kearney Park

Other unincorporated communities

* Camden * Farmhaven * Livingston *

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

* Vernon *

Way Way or WAY may refer to: Paths * a road, route, trail, path or pathway, including long-distance paths * a straight rail or track on a machine tool (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides * Ways, large slipway ...

Ghost town

* Beatties Bluff

Politics

Madison County is a Republican leaning county although Democrats do respectable by receiving over 40% of the vote. The last Democrat to win the county was

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1980.

Education

There are two school districts: Madison County School District and Canton Public School District. Private schools: * Canton Academy * Madison-Ridgeland Academy * St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Secondary school campus) * St. Joseph Catholic School (of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson The Diocese of Jackson is a Latin Church diocese in Mississippi in the United States. Its ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes the northern and central parts of the state, an area of . It is the largest diocese, by area, east of the Mississippi R ...

) * Veritas School (CLOSED) The local community college is

Holmes Community College Holmes Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Goodman, Mississippi. It also has campuses in Grenada and Ridgeland, and satellite campuses in Attala, Webster, and Yazoo counties. Holmes Community College was ...

Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...

is in Madison County. - Compare with the county map.
Campus map:
Compare with a map of Madison County:

References

External links

* {{Coord, 32.63, -90.03, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 Mississippi counties Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi 1828 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1828