Lee County, Mississippi Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Lee County, MS Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below averageHealthier than 91% of counties in Mississippi
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C
Income Below averageWealthier than 94% of counties in Mississippi
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D
Education Well below averageBetter educated than 89% of counties in Mississippi
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Lee County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 83,034 | 2,946,497 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 183.3 | 60.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.33% | -0.18% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 35.1 | 36.7 | 37.3 |
| Households | 32,591 | 1,145,227 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Lee County grew by 3.7% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 83,034 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Lee County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 21.4% of residents. That is 0.8 points below Mississippi as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 17,768 21.4% -0.8 pts
- Millennials 29–44 17,464 21.0% +0.7 pts
- Gen X 45–60 16,252 19.6% +0.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 13,947 16.8% -1.0 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Mississippi, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 52.6% of the people living in Lee County and men 47.4%.
- Women 52.6% Mississippi 51.5%
- Men 47.4% Mississippi 48.5%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Lee County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Lee County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.
| Metric | Lee County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $68,266 | $56,669 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.85% | 4.27% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Lee County is about 20% higher than in Mississippi.
Housing
| Metric | Lee County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $162,980 | $130,069 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $956 | $954 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 70.8% | 70.0% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Lee County is about 14.2 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $956 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Lee County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 154 hours, about 6.4 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Lee County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 18.4 | 21.5 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 36.8 | 43.0 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 154 | 179 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,759 | $5,558 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 5.4% | 5.9% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,830 | 6,176 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 966 | 914 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Mississippi:
Sharkey County (11.9 min), Coahoma County (13.2 min), Leflore County (15.2 min).
Slowest:
Wilkinson County (36.8 min), Tate County (32.8 min), Greene County (32.7 min).
The average commute time in Lee County is 18 minutes, shorter than the 22 minutes in Mississippi.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Lee County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Lee County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 25.9% | 21.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.51 | 2.49 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Mississippi:
Madison County (0.4), Lafayette County (0.3), Oktibbeha County (0.3).
Lowest:
Issaquena County (0.1), Tallahatchie County (0.2), Greene County (0.2).
Health
Lee County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Lee County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 77.4 | 74.7 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 18.6% | 23.5% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 19.1% | 22.1% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Mississippi:
Madison County (0.8), Lafayette County (0.8), Oktibbeha County (0.8).
Lowest:
Holmes County (0.7), Quitman County (0.7), Sharkey County (0.7).
Lee County, MS Compared With Nearby Counties
Lee County, MS is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 83,034 residents against a local median of 28,122. Lee County, MS's median household income, at $68,266, runs 31% above the $52,298 typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $162,980 against a local median of $215,625, 24% below it. Every measure here with a clear better direction points the same way, so Lee County, MS is not trading one advantage for another, it reads stronger than its neighbours across the board. The counties themselves sit within $7,552 of each other on median household income, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Lee County, MS, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Lee County, MS has the highest median household income of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County, MS | 83,034 | $68,266 #1/6 | $162,980 #4/6 | 18.4 min #1/6 |
| Itawamba County, MS | 24,036 | $57,203 | $242,646 | 25.1 min |
| Pontotoc County, MS | 31,525 | $52,298 | $95,972 | 23.7 min |
| Prentiss County, MS | 25,184 | $49,651 | $27,500 | 18.9 min |
| Union County, MS | 28,122 | $56,904 | $257,292 | 21.5 min |
| Monroe County, MS | 33,747 | $51,586 | $215,625 | 22.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lee County, Mississippi.
What is the population of Lee County, Mississippi?
About 83,034 people live in Lee County, Mississippi, in 32,591 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 35.1, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 2 years.
How densely populated is Lee County, Mississippi?
Averaged over its land area, Lee County, Mississippi has 183 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 2.1 times the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Lee County, Mississippi?
The median home costs 2.4 times the median household income ($162,980 against $68,266), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $956 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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