• county
  • FIPS 28035
  • Largest town: Hattiesburg

Forrest County, Mississippi

Forrest County had 78,435 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 466.0 square miles of land. It ranks 8th of 82 in Mississippi by population and 56th by land area.

Population
78,435
#8 of 82 in Mississippi · #736 in US
Area
466.0 sq mi
#56 of 82 in Mississippi · #2,209 in US
Density
168 / sq mi
#7 of 82 in Mississippi · #634 in US
Median household income
$51,328
#30 of 82 in Mississippi · #2,620 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Forrest County within Mississippi. Pin: Jackson.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Forrest County

Forrest County population, land area and income

Forrest County had 78,435 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 466.0 square miles of land. It ranks 8th of 82 in Mississippi by population and 56th by land area. That works out to 168.3 people per square mile, 1.7 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Mississippi has 21,443 residents, so Forrest County is 3.7 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $51,328 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

78,435

3144th1st

736th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

466 sq mi

3144th1st

2209th of 3,144 (US)

Density

168.3 / sq mi

3144th1st

634th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$51,328

3143rd1st

2620th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Mississippi (82)

Population

78,435

82nd1st

8th of 82 (MS)

Land area

466 sq mi

82nd1st

56th of 82 (MS)

Density

168.3 / sq mi

82nd1st

7th of 82 (MS)

Median household income

$51,328

82nd1st

30th of 82 (MS)

How Forrest County's population changed since 2020

Forrest County gained 223 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.3%. That ranks 23rd of 82 in Mississippi for growth. The median Mississippi county changed by -1.6%, and the state as a whole by -0.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Forrest County recorded 4,227 births and 3,985 deaths, a natural change of +242. Net international migration added +677 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -689. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 689 people.

78.2k202078.0k202178.3k202278.4k202378.4k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
4,227
Deaths
3,985
Net international migration
+677
Net domestic migration
-689
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+3

Where Forrest County is

The Census internal point of Forrest County is at 31.188600, -89.259400. It sits in UTM zone 16N. The map shades Mississippi's 82 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Forrest County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Itawamba County: +1.4%Tate County: +1.5%Lafayette County: +7.0%Marshall County: +1.7%Leake County: +1.0%Newton County: -0.9%Choctaw County: -1.4%Grenada County: -3.0%Jones County: -2.0%Kemper County: -4.5%Pontotoc County: +2.6%Stone County: +6.8%Jefferson Davis County: -1.9%Covington County: -1.6%Jasper County: -3.4%George County: +6.2%Webster County: +1.4%Panola County: -1.2%Humphreys County: -7.9%Franklin County: -1.9%Oktibbeha County: +0.5%Yalobusha County: +0.2%Alcorn County: -1.5%Perry County: -0.5%Sharkey County: -14.3%Neshoba County: -0.1%Greene County: +1.1%Noxubee County: -3.9%Clarke County: -2.5%Quitman County: -9.9%Forrest County: +0.3%Washington County: -7.8%Holmes County: -7.8%Simpson County: -1.1%Montgomery County: -3.9%Wayne County: -0.3%Lauderdale County: -2.9%Tippah County: -1.4%Scott County: -1.1%Benton County: -1.3%Smith County: -1.1%Hinds County: -6.5%Prentiss County: +2.1%Copiah County: -2.6%Issaquena County: -2.3%Yazoo County: -13.7%Union County: +2.0%Calhoun County: -3.5%Marion County: -1.5%Chickasaw County: -1.8%Wilkinson County: -8.3%Warren County: -5.5%Bolivar County: -7.9%Clay County: -2.2%Lincoln County: +0.3%Lowndes County: -2.7%Harrison County: +2.3%Madison County: +4.6%Lamar County: +3.6%Leflore County: -7.7%Sunflower County: -10.4%Winston County: -1.5%Jefferson County: -4.8%Adams County: -2.6%Hancock County: +0.8%Lee County: -0.4%Pearl River County: +5.0%Attala County: -3.3%Walthall County: -0.2%Monroe County: -1.9%Coahoma County: -5.3%Rankin County: +2.2%Lawrence County: -2.6%Amite County: -2.0%Claiborne County: -10.7%DeSoto County: +5.2%Tallahatchie County: -13.6%Tunica County: -5.9%Jackson County: +2.5%Pike County: -3.0%Carroll County: -5.7%Tishomingo County: -1.6%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -5.3%
  2. < -2.3%
  3. < -1.2%
  4. < +1.1%
  5. ≥ +1.1%
no data

Orange pin: Forrest County internal point. Dark pin: Jackson.

Internal point

Decimal
31.188600, -89.259400
DMS
31°11'18.96"N 89°15'33.84"W
UTM
16N 284703.6E 3452702.9N
Geohash
dj892veqc
Plus code
863G5PQR+C6

Towns in Forrest County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Forrest County, 53,300 people together, or 68% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Forrest County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Hattiesburg with 41,762.

  1. 01Hattiesburg (part)41,762
  2. 02Petal11,538
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Forrest County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Forrest County. The most populous is Lamar County, MS, with 66,734 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Jackson and the nearest big city

Jackson is 94.0 miles NW of Forrest County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Mobile, AL (population 201,367), 77.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Hattiesburg, MS (population 48,522), 8.9 miles away.

Forrest County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Forrest County is 28035: state code 28 for Mississippi plus county code 035. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $51,328.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Forrest County, Mississippi?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 78,435. That is up 223 people (0.3%) from the July 2020 estimate of 78,212.

What is the FIPS code of Forrest County?

28035. The first two digits (28) are Mississippi; the last three (035) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Forrest County?

Hattiesburg, with 41,762 residents inside Forrest County in 2024 (48,522 across all 2 counties it spans).

Which counties border Forrest County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Lamar County, MS; Jones County, MS; Pearl River County, MS; Stone County, MS; Covington County, MS; Perry County, MS.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.