Is being in an area of Mississippi that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Jackson and Gulfport, while others want peace and quiet like in Forest and Ripley, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Mississippi have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Magnolia State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
48.3% growth since 2010 · 4,298 net new residents
D’Iberville is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, immediately north of Biloxi, across the Back Bay. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 9,486. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
47.3% growth since 2010 · 15,109 net new residents
Located in
DeSoto County, Mississippi
Olive Branch is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 33,484 at the 2010 census, up from 21,054 in 2000. Olive Branch is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and is part of the Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region that consists of three counties in southwest Tennessee, five counties in northwest Mississippi, and two counties in eastern Arkansas. From 1990 to 2010 Olive Branch was the fastest growing city in the United States, with a growth rate of 838%. Along with other rapidly growing suburbs in DeSoto County, Olive Branch attributes most of its growth and development to the exodus of large numbers of middle-class families from central Memphis.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
46.8% growth since 2010 · 8,421 net new residents
Located in
Lafayette County, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.6% growth since 2010 · 3,001 net new residents
Located in
Rankin County, Mississippi
Flowood is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi. The population was 7,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
35.4% growth since 2010 · 4,696 net new residents
Located in
DeSoto County, Mississippi
Hernando is a city in and the county seat of DeSoto County, which is on the northwest border of Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,090 at the 2010 census, up from 6,812 in 2000. DeSoto County is the second-most-populous county in the Memphis metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
26.8% growth since 2010 · 1,288 net new residents
Pass Christian, nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,613 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
21.8% growth since 2010 · 2,288 net new residents
Located in
Hinds County, Mississippi
Byram is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,489 as of the 2010 census, up from 7,386 at the 2000 census, at which time it was an unincorporated census-designated place. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated for a second time in its history on June 16, 2009.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
21.2% growth since 2010 · 4,470 net new residents
Located in
Rankin County, Mississippi
Brandon is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi. The population was 21,705 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Rankin County. Brandon is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area and located east of the state capital.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
20.3% growth since 2010 · 9,483 net new residents
Located in
DeSoto County, Mississippi
Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and a principal city in the Memphis metropolitan area. The 2010 census reported a population of 48,982, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi. Southaven is traversed from north to south by the I-55/I-69 freeway. The city’s name derives from the fact that Southaven is located south of Whitehaven, a neighborhood in Memphis.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
20.0% growth since 2010 · 4,652 net new residents
Located in
Madison County, Mississippi
Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Mississippi’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Mississippi’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Magnolia State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 60 Mississippi cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Magnolia State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Mississippi.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Mississippi For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D’Iberville | 13,203 | 8,905 | 48.3% | 4,298 |
| 2 | Olive Branch | 47,019 | 31,910 | 47.3% | 15,109 |
| 3 | Oxford | 26,411 | 17,990 | 46.8% | 8,421 |
| 4 | Flowood | 10,587 | 7,586 | 39.6% | 3,001 |
| 5 | Hernando | 17,949 | 13,253 | 35.4% | 4,696 |
| 6 | Pass Christian | 6,097 | 4,809 | 26.8% | 1,288 |
| 7 | Byram | 12,799 | 10,511 | 21.8% | 2,288 |
| 8 | Brandon | 25,542 | 21,072 | 21.2% | 4,470 |
| 9 | Southaven | 56,226 | 46,743 | 20.3% | 9,483 |
| 10 | Madison | 27,946 | 23,294 | 20.0% | 4,652 |
| 11 | Long Beach | 17,009 | 14,769 | 15.2% | 2,240 |
| 12 | Biloxi | 48,861 | 43,921 | 11.2% | 4,940 |
| 13 | Pearl | 27,737 | 25,058 | 10.7% | 2,679 |
| 14 | Gulfport | 73,003 | 66,286 | 10.1% | 6,717 |
| 15 | Tupelo | 37,791 | 34,363 | 10.0% | 3,428 |
| 16 | Starkville | 25,721 | 23,436 | 9.7% | 2,285 |
| 17 | Petal | 11,294 | 10,301 | 9.6% | 993 |
| 18 | Bay St. Louis | 10,188 | 9,349 | 9.0% | 839 |
| 19 | Waveland | 7,062 | 6,490 | 8.8% | 572 |
| 20 | Clinton | 27,195 | 25,142 | 8.2% | 2,053 |
| 21 | Ocean Springs | 18,646 | 17,258 | 8.0% | 1,388 |
| 22 | Richland | 7,346 | 6,835 | 7.5% | 511 |
| 23 | Picayune | 11,900 | 11,087 | 7.3% | 813 |
| 24 | Hattiesburg | 48,619 | 45,713 | 6.4% | 2,906 |
| 25 | Booneville | 9,246 | 8,755 | 5.6% | 491 |
| 26 | Senatobia | 8,380 | 7,958 | 5.3% | 422 |
| 27 | Gautier | 19,046 | 18,088 | 5.3% | 958 |
| 28 | Ridgeland | 24,587 | 23,499 | 4.6% | 1,088 |
| 29 | Horn Lake | 26,647 | 25,495 | 4.5% | 1,152 |
| 30 | Pontotoc | 5,806 | 5,617 | 3.4% | 189 |
| 31 | Columbia | 6,632 | 6,573 | 0.9% | 59 |
| 32 | Ripley | 5,377 | 5,409 | -0.6% | -32 |
| 33 | Batesville | 7,387 | 7,486 | -1.3% | -99 |
| 34 | Corinth | 14,323 | 14,550 | -1.6% | -227 |
| 35 | Columbus | 23,348 | 23,768 | -1.8% | -420 |
| 36 | New Albany | 7,663 | 7,999 | -4.2% | -336 |
| 37 | Laurel | 17,679 | 18,506 | -4.5% | -827 |
| 38 | Pascagoula | 21,710 | 22,947 | -5.4% | -1,237 |
| 39 | Kosciusko | 6,933 | 7,355 | -5.7% | -422 |
| 40 | Forest | 5,357 | 5,711 | -6.2% | -354 |
| 41 | Philadelphia | 6,996 | 7,482 | -6.5% | -486 |
| 42 | McComb | 12,049 | 12,932 | -6.8% | -883 |
| 43 | Brookhaven | 11,650 | 12,618 | -7.7% | -968 |
| 44 | Grenada | 12,375 | 13,415 | -7.8% | -1,040 |
| 45 | Louisville | 5,983 | 6,701 | -10.7% | -718 |
| 46 | Greenwood | 14,086 | 15,870 | -11.2% | -1,784 |
| 47 | Amory | 6,500 | 7,390 | -12.0% | -890 |
| 48 | Yazoo City | 10,219 | 11,645 | -12.2% | -1,426 |
| 49 | Natchez | 14,192 | 16,279 | -12.8% | -2,087 |
| 50 | West Point | 9,900 | 11,467 | -13.7% | -1,567 |
| 51 | Holly Springs | 6,704 | 7,827 | -14.3% | -1,123 |
| 52 | Moss Point | 11,957 | 13,963 | -14.4% | -2,006 |
| 53 | Vicksburg | 20,589 | 24,189 | -14.9% | -3,600 |
| 54 | Cleveland | 10,623 | 12,536 | -15.3% | -1,913 |
| 55 | Jackson | 146,631 | 175,489 | -16.4% | -28,858 |
| 56 | Meridian | 34,137 | 40,927 | -16.6% | -6,790 |
| 57 | Indianola | 9,062 | 10,884 | -16.7% | -1,822 |
| 58 | Canton | 10,811 | 13,077 | -17.3% | -2,266 |
| 59 | Greenville | 28,166 | 35,141 | -19.8% | -6,975 |
| 60 | Clarksdale | 14,231 | 18,276 | -22.1% | -4,045 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 60 Mississippi cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Mississippi, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Mississippi are led by D’Iberville which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Mississippi are D’Iberville, Olive Branch, Oxford, Flowood, Hernando, Pass Christian, Byram, Brandon, Southaven, and Madison.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!
