U.S. News & World Report loves to produce rankings on everything from the nation’s best schools to its best hospitals to its best places to live. Recently, the magazine released a ranking that should make Mississippi feel good. Based on web searches, this state was the 10th most popular to people who are considering relocating from where they presently live, according to the report.
Unfortunately, data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests there is a gap between what people contemplate and what they end up doing. The government’s most recent population estimates indicate that Mississippi has not been a beneficiary in the shift of the U.S. population southward. Instead, the numbers show a modest loss in the state’s population, six-tenths of 1%, from 2020 to 2024.
Certain areas of the state indeed have been growing for some time: the Gulf Coast, DeSoto County, the Jackson and Hattiesburg suburbs, and Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi and its wealthy retiring alums. But their growth is not making up for other areas, such as the Delta and Jackson proper, that are not doing so well. Hinds County, home of Mississippi’s only real metropolis, has lost since 2020 almost twice as much of its population as the suburban counties of Madison and Rankin have picked up, according to the census estimates.
There are, for sure, lots of reasons why people should consider moving to Mississippi: mild winters, low cost of living, affordable housing, friendly business climate, plentiful outdoor recreational offerings and less frenetic pace, just to name some of the more obvious advantages.
Those advantages, though, may not be enough without a vibrant, low-crime, growing capital city. Most of the growth occurring in this nation has been centered around metropolitan areas for some time. DeSoto County, once a heavily agricultural area, has seen such a population boom in the past few decades because of its proximity to Memphis, not because of its rich farmland.
Until Jackson’s population decline starts reversing, Mississippi’s growth will probably be modest at best. That’s why all communities in this state have an interest in Jackson getting a handle on its crime and infrastructure problems, and the state Legislature must see itself as a partner in the process.
Jackson’s incoming mayor, John Horhn, with 22 years of experience in the state Senate, should be able to work better with state officials than did his indicted predecessor. Horhn’s comfortable election indicates that those who live in Jackson want a different style of leadership, not to mention greater competence. But they might not have the tax base to turn their city into the next Birmingham or Nashville. That’s where the Legislature can and should help.
Mississippi needs people to not only think about moving here, but to do so. A healthy Jackson is a key element in getting over that hump.
