• county
  • FIPS 28045
  • Largest town: Bay St. Louis

Hancock County, Mississippi

Hancock County had 46,492 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 474.0 square miles of land. It ranks 16th of 82 in Mississippi by population and 54th by land area.

Population
46,492
#16 of 82 in Mississippi · #1,060 in US
Area
474.0 sq mi
#54 of 82 in Mississippi · #2,173 in US
Density
98 / sq mi
#13 of 82 in Mississippi · #928 in US
Median household income
$61,126
#10 of 82 in Mississippi · #1,727 in US

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

Hancock County within Mississippi. Pin: Jackson.

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Tools and pages that start from Hancock County

Hancock County population, land area and income

Hancock County had 46,492 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 474.0 square miles of land. It ranks 16th of 82 in Mississippi by population and 54th by land area. That works out to 98.1 people per square mile, near the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Mississippi has 21,443 residents, so Hancock County is 2.2 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $61,126 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

46,492

3144th1st

1060th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

474 sq mi

3144th1st

2173rd of 3,144 (US)

Density

98.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

928th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$61,126

3143rd1st

1727th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Mississippi (82)

Population

46,492

82nd1st

16th of 82 (MS)

Land area

474 sq mi

82nd1st

54th of 82 (MS)

Density

98.1 / sq mi

82nd1st

13th of 82 (MS)

Median household income

$61,126

82nd1st

10th of 82 (MS)

How Hancock County's population changed since 2020

Hancock County gained 362 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.8%. That ranks 20th 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, Hancock County recorded 1,848 births and 2,613 deaths, a natural change of -765. Net international migration added +77 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +1,114. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 1,114 people.

46.1k202046.0k202146.0k202246.2k202346.5k2024
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
1,848
Deaths
2,613
Net international migration
+77
Net domestic migration
+1,114
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+331

Where Hancock County is

The Census internal point of Hancock County is at 30.391600, -89.482800. 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 Hancock 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: Hancock County internal point. Dark pin: Jackson.

Internal point

Decimal
30.391600, -89.482800
DMS
30°23'29.76"N 89°28'58.08"W
UTM
16N 261448.7E 3364794.9N
Geohash
dj2kgu8eg
Plus code
862G9GR8+JV

Towns in Hancock County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Hancock County, 26,960 people together, or 58% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Hancock County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Bay St. Louis with 10,526.

  1. 01Bay St. Louis10,526
  2. 02Diamondhead9,391
  3. 03Waveland7,043
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Hancock County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Hancock County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is St. Tammany Parish, LA, with 277,615 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Jackson and the nearest big city

Jackson is 138.1 miles NNW of Hancock County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is New Orleans, LA (population 362,701), 35.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Bay St. Louis, MS (population 10,526), 8.8 miles away.

Hancock County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Hancock County is 28045: state code 28 for Mississippi plus county code 045. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $61,126.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Hancock County, Mississippi?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 46,492. That is up 362 people (0.8%) from the July 2020 estimate of 46,130.

What is the FIPS code of Hancock County?

28045. The first two digits (28) are Mississippi; the last three (045) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Hancock County?

Bay St. Louis, with 10,526 residents inside Hancock County in 2024.

Which counties border Hancock County?

5 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: St. Tammany Parish, LA; Harrison County, MS; Pearl River County, MS; St. Bernard Parish, LA; Stone 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.