Mississippi Facts for Kids

A Map of the U.S. state Mississippi
  • U.S. State: Mississippi
  • Abbreviation: MS
  • Joined the USA: December 10th, 1817 (20th State)
  • Located: Southeastern United Statess
  • Capital City: Jackson, MS
  • Most Populated City: Jackson, MS

32 Mississippi Facts for Kids

  1. Mississippi is a state in the United States of America.
  2. Mississippi became a U.S. State on Wednesday, December 10th, 1817.
  3. Mississippi was the 20th state to join the United States.
  4. The U.S. state of Mississippi covers 48,430 square miles.
  5. Mississippi is the 32nd largest state by area in the United States.
  6. In 2019, the population of Mississippi was estimated to be 2,976,000 residents by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  7. In 2019, Mississippi was the 34th most populated state in the United States.
  8. A person who is from or lives in Mississippi is called a Mississippian.
  9. The capital city of Mississippi is Jackson.
  10. The two most populated cities in Mississippi are Jackson and Gulfport.
  11. The largest city by population in Mississippi is Jackson.
  12. The largest metropolitan area in Mississippi is the Great Jackson area.
  13. The U.S. state of Mississippi has 82 counties.
  14. The most populated county in Mississippi is Hinds County with 231,840 residents (2019, U.S. Census Bureau).
  15. The largest county by area in Mississippi is Yazoo County with 920 square miles.
  16. The highest elevation point in Mississippi is Woodall Mountain at 807 feet above sea level.
  17. The lowest elevation point in Mississippi is the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico at sea level.
  18. The average precipitation (rain and snow) in Mississippi is 56.4 inches.
  19. Mississippi is the 2nd wettest state by precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States.
  20. The average temperature in Mississippi is 63.5 °F.
  21. Mississippi is the 6th warmest state in the United States.
  22. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Mississippi was 115 °F on July 29th, 1930.
  23. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Mississippi was -19 °F on January 30th, 1966.
  24. A few natural disasters that can affect Mississippi are heat waves, hurricanes and thunderstorms.
  25. Mississippi is in one time zone, Central Time Zone (CT).
  26. The USPS abbreviation for Mississippi is MS.
  27. Mississippi is also known as the Magnolia State.
  28. The motto of the U.S. state of Mississippi in English is “By valor and arms”.
  29. The official state insect of Mississippi is the western honeybee (Apis mellifera).
  30. The official state fish of Mississippi is the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).
  31. The official state bird of Mississippi is the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos).
  32. The official state tree of Mississippi is the southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora).

Additional Resources on Mississippi

About the author
Facts Editor

This is an author profile for articles that are created from a collaborative effort. It is not uncommon that articles on this site were either written, researched or fact checked by several authors and team members. So this author profile will be displayed to reflect that. Our team of editors, writers and fact checkers do extensive research before publishing articles on the site, and we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible.