Vancleave is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Jackson County,

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 ...

, United States. It is part of the

Pascagoula The Pascagoula (also Pascoboula, Pacha-Ogoula, Pascagola, Pascaboula, Paskaguna) were an indigenous group living in coastal Mississippi on the Pascagoula River. The name ''Pascagoula'' is a Choctaw term meaning "bread eater". Choctaw native Am ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,886 at the 2010 census, up from 4,910 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Vancleave occupies a large portion of central Jackson County; according to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.21%, are water. The original hamlet of Vancleave is along

Mississippi Highway 57 Mississippi Highway 57 (MS 57) is a state highway in southeastern Mississippi. It runs in a north/south direction for approximately , serving four counties: Jackson County, MS, Jackson, George County, MS, George, Greene County, MS, Greene, and W ...

on high ground north of the valley of Bluff Creek. The CDP limits extend north as far as Mississippi Highway 614 (Wade–Vancleave Road), east to the

Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

and Ward Bayou, and south to the Gautier city line at the mouth of Bluff Creek. The western boundary is formed mainly by Bluff Creek and Highway 57. Vancleave is northwest of

, the Jackson

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 ...

, and northeast of

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,592 people, 1,785 households, and 1,224 families residing in the CDP.

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 4,910 people, 1,624 households, and 1,354 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,764 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.20%

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 ...

, 6.74%

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 ...

, 0.57% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races.

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 were 0.96% of the population. There were 1,624 households, out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% 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, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 13.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.30. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,034, and the median income for a family was $41,426. Males had a median income of $36,135 versus $21,078 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 CDP was $14,349. About 9.6% of families and 13.9% 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 19.8% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

Fire department

The Central Jackson County Fire Department provides

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially Conflagration, destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, Compartmentalization (fire protection), compartmentalisation, suppression and inve ...

for the community.

Law enforcement

The

Jackson County Sheriff's Office Jackson County is the name of 24 counties in the United States, most of which are named after President Andrew Jackson: *Jackson County, Alabama *Jackson County, Arkansas *Jackson County, Colorado *Jackson County, Florida *Jackson County, Georgi ...

provides

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

services for the community.

Education

Vancleave is served by the Jackson County School District. It includes two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Vancleave is also home to a branch of the Jackson-George Regional Library, located at 12604 Highway 57.

Elementary schools

* Vancleave Lower Elementary School * Vancleave Upper Elementary School

Middle school

* Vancleave Middle School

High school

* Vancleave High School

Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw

Vancleave is home to the

Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw The Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw or Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw Tribe is an List of organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes, unrecognized tribe and nonprofit organization based in Vancleave, Mississippi. The State of Mississippi, ...

, a group historically known as the Vancleave Indians or Vancleave Creoles. The State of Mississippi, through House Resolution 50 (HR50), ceremonially recognized the Live Oak Choctaw as "The Official Native American Tribe of the Choctaw People of Jackson County, Mississippi" in 2016. This legislative action acknowledges the tribe's historical and cultural significance in the state. While locally acknowledged, the tribe is not

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

as a Native American tribe.

Notable people

Elley Duhé Elley Frances Duhé (born February 14, 1992) is an American singer. Biography Elley Frances Duhé, known commonly as Elley Duhé, is an American singer born in Mobile, Alabama. After her father got Elley her first guitar when she was 14, she be ...

— pop music singer-songwriter *

Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He began his singing career in 1982 with a self-titled album on RCA Records Nashville. From 1986 to 1987, he was a vocalist in the trio S-K-O (Schuy ...

— Nashville singer-songwriter ("

Diggin' Up Bones "Diggin' Up Bones" is a song written by Paul Overstreet, Al Gore, and Nat Stuckey, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in August 1986 as the third single from his album '' Storms of Life''. It peaked at num ...

") * Jacob L. Reddix (1897–1973) — educator, university president * Mike Seymour — member of the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

* Chris White — football linebacker with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Jackson County, Mississippi Census-designated places in Mississippi Pascagoula metropolitan area