Mississippi vs Tennessee

The two states, county by county

Both maps share one density scale, so the same shade means the same number of people per square mile on either side of the border. Darker counties are denser. Select a county to open its page.

Side by side

Population and density

Tennessee has 7,227,750 residents, 2.5 times Mississippi's 2,943,045. Mississippi ranks 35th and Tennessee 15th of the 50 states and DC. Tennessee is the more crowded, with 175.3 people per square mile against 62.7, 2.8 times.

Land area

Mississippi has 46,925 square miles of land, 14% more than Tennessee's 41,224. The largest county-equivalent in Mississippi is Yazoo County at 922 square miles; in Tennessee it is Shelby County at 753.

Counties

Tennessee is divided into 95 county-equivalents and Mississippi into 82, so an average Tennessee county covers 434 square miles against 572. The typical county in Mississippi has 21,443 residents, against 32,883 in Tennessee. The most populous are Harrison County (213,730) and Shelby County (910,530).

25 county names appear on both sides of the border: Benton, Carroll, Claiborne, Clay, Franklin, Greene, Hancock, Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Scott, Smith, Union, Warren, Washington, Wayne. Use the FIPS code, not the name, when joining data across the two states.

Household income

The median county in Tennessee has a household income of $57,630, 18% above Mississippi's $48,950. The highest county incomes are Madison County ($82,057) in Mississippi and Williamson County ($136,007) in Tennessee, from SAIPE 2023.

Capitals and daylight

Jackson and Nashville are 330 miles apart in a straight line; from Jackson the initial bearing is 35°, NE. On June 21, 2026, Jackson gets 14 h 16 min of daylight and Nashville 14 h 37 min; on December 21 the figures are 10 h 02 min and 9 h 42 min. Month by month tables are on the Jackson and Nashville daylight pages.

Where they sit

Both are in the Census East South Central division of the South region. By county internal points, Mississippi spans 2 UTM zones and Tennessee 2.