George County, Mississippi

George County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,350. Its county seat is Lucedale. The county is named for James Z. George, US Senator from Mississippi. George County was included in the Pascagoula, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is located adjacent to the Alabama state line.

History
George County was named after Senator James Z. George and was formed on March 16, 1910, from parts of land formerly included in Jackson and Greene Counties.

The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad ran through Lucedale on its way to Mobile.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 484 sqmi, of which 479 sqmi is land and 4.9 sqmi (1.0%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 98.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 98
 * [[Image:Circle sign 26.svg|20px]] Mississippi Highway 26
 * [[Image:Circle sign 57.svg|20px]] Mississippi Highway 57
 * [[Image:Circle sign 63.svg|20px]] Mississippi Highway 63
 * [[Image:Circle sign 198.svg|20px]] Mississippi Highway 198

Adjacent counties

 * Greene County (north)
 * Mobile County, Alabama (east)
 * Jackson County (south)
 * Stone County (west)
 * Perry County (northwest)

National protected area

 * De Soto National Forest (part)

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,350 people, 7,592 households, and 5,309 families residing in the county.

Politics
The county has gone solidly Republican in the last ten Presidential elections. In past Presidential elections third-party candidates sometimes did well here. In 1968 George Wallace won the county with over 90 percent of the vote, which was the second highest percentage he received in any county. In 1988 the county gave David Duke 4.21%, his best performance in the nation. In that election it also gave more support to Lenora Fulani than she received in most of the nation. In 2012, President Obama only received 14 percent of the vote, and Hillary Clinton received barely ten percent in 2016 In 2020, George County was only one of two counties that voted against replacing the state flag. The other was neighbouring Greene County.

The county is located in Mississippi's 4th congressional district, which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+21 and is represented by Republican Mike Ezzel.

City

 * Lucedale (county seat)

Census-designated places

 * Agricola
 * Benndale

Unincorporated places

 * Basin
 * Bexley
 * Crossroads
 * Merrill
 * Shipman