Wayne County, Mississippi

Wayne County population, land area and income

Wayne County had 19,749 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 810.7 square miles of land. It ranks 46th of 82 in Mississippi by population and 5th by land area. That works out to 24.4 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Mississippi has 21,443 residents, about the same as Wayne County.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $45,573 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Wayne County's population changed since 2020

Wayne County lost 58 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.3%. That ranks 27th 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, Wayne County recorded 1,105 births and 1,208 deaths, a natural change of -103. Net international migration added +156 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -78. The largest single component was international migration, which added 156 people.

Where Wayne County is

The Census internal point of Wayne County is at 31.642500, -88.678200. 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 Wayne County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Wayne County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Wayne County, 4,507 people together, or 23% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Wayne County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Waynesboro with 4,507.

Counties bordering Wayne County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Wayne County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Jones County, MS, with 65,837 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Jones County

  65,837 people

  29 mi W

• Jasper County

  15,799 people

  37 mi NW

• Clarke County

  15,155 people

  28 mi N

• AL

  Washington County, AL

  15,018 people

  32 mi ESE

• Greene County

  13,675 people

  30 mi S

• AL

  Choctaw County, AL

  12,052 people

  35 mi NE

• Perry County

  11,406 people

  37 mi SSW

Distance to Jackson and the nearest big city

Jackson is 99.3 miles WNW of Wayne County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Mobile, AL (population 201,367), 75.3 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Laurel, MS (population 17,508), 27.8 miles away.

Wayne County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Wayne County is 28153: state code 28 for Mississippi plus county code 153. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $45,573.