Lamar County, Mississippi

Lamar County
Lamar County
County
	Lamar County Courthouse in Purvis
	Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
	Mississippi's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 31°13′N 89°31′W / 31.21°N 89.51°W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1904
Named for	Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar
Seat	Purvis
Largest city	West Hattiesburg
Area
• Total	500 sq mi (1,000 km2)
• Land	497 sq mi (1,290 km2)
• Water	3.4 sq mi (9 km2) 0.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	64,222
• Density	130/sq mi (50/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	www.lamarcountyms.gov/11/index.php

Lamar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,222.^[1] Its county seat is Purvis.^[2] Named for Confederate Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, the county was carved out of Marion County to the west in 1904.

Lamar County is part of the Hattiesburg, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is largely a rural county, except for its northeast quarter.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 500 square miles (1,300 km²), of which 497 square miles (1,290 km²) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[3]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	11,741		—
1920	12,869		9.6%
1930	12,848		−0.2%
1940	12,096		−5.9%
1950	13,225		9.3%
1960	13,675		3.4%
1970	15,209		11.2%
1980	23,821		56.6%
1990	30,424		27.7%
2000	39,070		28.4%
2010	55,658		42.5%
2020	64,222		15.4%
2023 (est.)	66,217	^[4]	3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1790-1960^[6] 1900-1990^[7] 1990-2000^[8] 2010-2013^[9]

Lamar County racial composition as of 2020^[10]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	43,865	68.3%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	14,296	22.26%
Native American	108	0.17%
Asian	1,091	1.7%
Pacific Islander	50	0.08%
Other/Mixed	2,450	3.81%
Hispanic or Latino	2,362	3.68%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 64,222 people, 22,116 households, and 15,584 families residing in the county.

Politics

Lamar County, historically, is one of the most conservative counties in Mississippi. The county has voted for Republican presidential candidates with 60 percent or more of the vote in the past ten elections.

United States presidential election results for Lamar County, Mississippi^[11]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	20,704	72.57%	7,340	25.73%	486	1.70%
2016	18,751	76.25%	5,190	21.10%	651	2.65%
2012	19,101	76.74%	5,494	22.07%	294	1.18%
2008	18,497	77.36%	5,159	21.58%	254	1.06%
2004	16,410	80.19%	3,923	19.17%	132	0.65%
2000	12,795	77.07%	3,478	20.95%	329	1.98%
1996	8,609	67.39%	3,169	24.81%	996	7.80%
1992	8,259	63.37%	3,208	24.62%	1,565	12.01%
1988	9,145	77.86%	2,535	21.58%	66	0.56%
1984	7,929	79.85%	1,964	19.78%	37	0.37%
1980	5,395	63.13%	3,005	35.16%	146	1.71%
1976	4,056	54.71%	3,109	41.93%	249	3.36%
1972	5,022	88.38%	493	8.68%	167	2.94%
1968	546	10.27%	351	6.60%	4,422	83.14%
1964	3,372	90.99%	334	9.01%	0	0.00%
1960	636	27.26%	651	27.90%	1,046	44.83%
1956	429	24.97%	805	46.86%	484	28.17%
1952	1,034	45.07%	1,260	54.93%	0	0.00%
1948	36	2.45%	91	6.19%	1,342	91.35%
1944	93	8.03%	1,065	91.97%	0	0.00%
1940	55	4.57%	1,148	95.43%	0	0.00%
1936	91	6.97%	1,210	92.65%	5	0.38%
1932	31	2.90%	1,033	96.63%	5	0.47%
1928	410	36.35%	718	63.65%	0	0.00%
1924	80	8.78%	795	87.27%	36	3.95%
1920	192	21.74%	672	76.10%	19	2.15%
1916	89	10.09%	744	84.35%	49	5.56%
1912	16	3.17%	399	79.01%	90	17.82%