Decatur, Mississippi

Decatur is a town in and the county seat of Newton County, Mississippi. The population was 1,841 at the 2010 census. This town is named after war hero Stephen Decatur Jr.

History
Newton County was created and Decatur established as the county seat in 1836. The Newton County Courthouse was built in Decatur in 1972. It was built by Tatum Concrete Company.

Geography
Decatur is located at 32.43944°N, -89.11194°W (32.439557, -89.112047).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 1,945 people, 614 households, and 385 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,426 people, 407 households, and 269 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,379.9 PD/sqmi. There were 463 housing units at an average density of 448.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 66.41% White, 32.54% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.14% Asian, and 0.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 407 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 16.5% under the age of 18, 41.8% from 18 to 24, 16.4% from 25 to 44, 14.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,333, and the median income for a family was $37,115. Males had a median income of $28,875 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,839. About 14.8% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Kemp Alderman, Major League Baseball player
 * Lamar Blount, former end in the National Football League
 * Charles Evers, first post-Reconstruction African American mayor in Mississippi
 * Medgar Evers, civil rights activist
 * Betsy Harris, basketball coach
 * W. H. Johnson Jr., state legislator
 * Randy Rushing, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives