Rankin County, Mississippi

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Rankin County

| state = Mississippi

| seal =

| founded date = February 4

| founded year = 1828

| seat wl = Brandon

| largest city wl = Pearl

| area_total_sq_mi = 806

| area_land_sq_mi = 775

| area_water_sq_mi = 31

| area percentage = 3.8

| population_as_of = 2020

| population_total = 157031

| population_density_sq_mi = auto

| web = www.rankincounty.org

| district = 3rd

| time zone = Central

| named for = Christopher Rankin

| ex image = Rankin County Courthouse.jpg|ex image cap=Rankin County Courthouse in Brandon

}}

Rankin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The western border of the county is formed by the Pearl River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 157,031,{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Rankin County, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Rankin_County,_Mississippi?g=0500000US28121|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 14, 2023}} making it the fourth-most populous county in Mississippi. The county seat is Brandon.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}} The county is named in honor of Christopher Rankin, a Mississippi Congressman who served from 1819 to 1826.

Rankin County is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|806|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|775|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|31|sqmi}} (3.8%) is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928074019/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}

=Adjacent counties=

Madison County (north)
Scott County (east)
Smith County (southeast)
Simpson County (south)
Hinds County (west)

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1830= 2083

|1840= 4631

|1850= 7227

|1860= 13635

|1870= 12977

|1880= 16752

|1890= 17922

|1900= 20955

|1910= 23944

|1920= 20272

|1930= 20353

|1940= 27934

|1950= 28881

|1960= 34322

|1970= 43933

|1980= 69427

|1990= 87161

|2000= 115327

|2010= 141617

|2020= 157031

|estyear=2023

|estimate=160417

|estref={{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 5, 2024}}

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014}}
1790-1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=November 7, 2014}} 1900-1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014}}
1990-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014}} 2010-2019{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28121.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 5, 2013|archive-date=June 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607052256/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28121.html|url-status=dead}}

}}

class="wikitable"

|+Rankin County racial composition as of 2020{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28121&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 16, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

White (non-Hispanic)

|111,990

|71.32%

Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|32,430

|20.65%

Native American

|255

|0.16%

Asian

|2,260

|1.44%

Pacific Islander

|94

|0.06%

Other/Mixed

|4,935

|3.14%

Hispanic or Latino

|5,067

|3.23%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 157,031 people, 57,011 households, and 39,676 families residing in the county.

Transportation

=Airport=

Jackson Evers International Airport is located in unincorporated Rankin County.

Government

The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) operates the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), located in unincorporated Rankin County."[http://www.mdoc.state.ms.us/division_of_institutions%20State%20Prisons.htm State Prisons] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021206092421/http://www.mdoc.state.ms.us/division_of_institutions%20State%20Prisons.htm |date=2002-12-06 }}." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010."[http://www.mdoc.state.ms.us/mdoc%20quick%20reference.htm MDOC QUICK REFERENCE]." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010. CMCF houses the state's female death row inmates. MDOC also operates the Brandon Probation and Parole Office in Brandon."[http://www.mdoc.state.ms.us/MDOCmap/support/rankin.htm Rankin County]." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 15, 2010. In 2007 the Mississippi Highway Patrol opened a driver's license facility across the highway from the prison."[http://www.wapt.com/news/12940442/detail.html New Driver's License Facility Opens In Pearl"], WAPT-TV. April 23, 2007. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.

The Mississippi State Hospital of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health is in Whitfield in unincorporated Rankin County."[http://www.msh.state.ms.us/CampusMap/Map_11x17_vert.pdf Whitfield Campus Map]." Mississippi State Hospital. Retrieved on August 10, 2010."[http://msh.state.ms.us/directions.htm Driving Directions to MSH]." Mississippi State Hospital. Retrieved on August 10, 2010. It occupies the former Rankin Farm prison grounds.Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940: Population. Bureau of the Census, 1941. [https://books.google.com/books?id=82pQAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Mississippi+State+Hospital%22+%22Rankin+Farm%22&pg=PA572 572]. Retrieved on Google Books on August 12, 2011. In 1935, the Mississippi State Insane Asylum moved from a complex of 19th-century buildings in northern Jackson, the capital, to its current location.Cole, Hunter. The Legs Murder Scandal. University Press of Mississippi. [https://books.google.com/books?id=JC3kwQTAbE8C&dq=%22thirty-five+hundred+acres+of+farmland%22&pg=PA331 331]. Retrieved from Google Books on October 31, 2010. {{ISBN|1-60473-722-0}}, {{ISBN|978-1-60473-722-6}}

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality operates the Central Regional Office and the MDEQ Laboratory in unincorporated Rankin County."[http://www.deq.state.ms.us/mdeq.nsf/page/FS_Centralregionaloffice Central Regional Office]." Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved on September 21, 2010."[http://www.deq.state.ms.us/mdeq.nsf/page/About_DirectionstoMDEQOffices Locations and Driving Directions to MDEQ Offices]." Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved on September 21, 2010.

Rankin County is one of the most conservative counties in the state, with Republican candidates normally receiving 70% or so of the popular vote. The county last supported the official Democratic candidate for president in 1956, which is also the last time a Democrat got even 40 percent of the county's vote. While conservative Democrats held most local offices well into the 1980s, today there are almost no elected Democrats left above the county level.

= Law enforcement =

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety operates the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy (MLEOTA) on a {{convert|243|acre|ha|adj=on}} property in Rankin County, near CMCF and the MSH, {{convert|10|mi|km}} from Jackson."[http://www.dps.state.ms.us/highway-patrol/training-academies/mleota/ Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers’ Training Academy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414040656/http://www.dps.state.ms.us/highway-patrol/training-academies/mleota/ |date=2012-04-14 }}," Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Retrieved on April 16, 2012.

==Department of Justice torture investigation==

In February 2023, the Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into conduct of the Rankin County Sheriffs department. The investigation is centered on a January 24, 2023, incident where deputies searched the house of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker. Jenkins and Parker, both African-Americans, experienced six deputies turning-off their body cameras, torturing the men for two hours, shocking them with tasers, repeatedly shouting racial slurs, and shooting one of them in the mouth. All accused officers pled guilty and were convicted.{{Cite web |title=Statement from FBI Jackson |url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/jackson/news/statement-from-fbi-jackson |access-date=July 5, 2023 |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us}}{{Citation |last=Adams |first=Ross |title=Rankin County Sheriff's Office subject of federal civil rights investigation |date=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.wapt.com/article/rankin-county-sheriffs-office-subject-of-federal-civil-rights-investigation/42959623 |access-date=July 5, 2023 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Deputies accused of shoving guns in mouths of 2 Black men |url=https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-deputies-black-violent-arrests-61acf712b13fc3c77dce76e508fa94c1 |website=Associated Press |date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405124219/https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-deputies-black-violent-arrests-61acf712b13fc3c77dce76e508fa94c1 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |url-status=live |last1=Goldberg |first1=Michael |access-date=March 28, 2023 }}

In June 2023, Jenkins and Parker filed a $400M lawsuit against Sheriff Bryan Bailey and six deputies. In late June, the Sheriff announced that some deputies involved had been terminated or resigned from their jobs, and that the department hired a "compliance officer" to monitor the Sheriff department's daily operations.{{Cite web |last=Elamroussi |first=Shawn Nottingham,Aya |date=June 28, 2023 |title=Multiple deputies fired after 2 Black men file lawsuit alleging torture and attempted sexual assault in Mississippi |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/us/rankin-county-mississippi-officers-fired-lawsuit-black-men/index.html |access-date=July 5, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=June 28, 2023 |title=Five Mississippi deputies in alleged violent episode against 2 Black men fired or quit - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mississippi-deputies-alleged-violent-episode-two-black-men-fired-or-quit-rankin-county/ |access-date=July 5, 2023 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

An investigation by the Associated Press determined that the Sheriff's Special Response Team had been involved in four violent incidents with African-Americans since 2019, resulting in two deaths.{{Cite web |date=March 27, 2023 |title=Deputies accused of shoving guns in mouths of 2 Black men |url=https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-deputies-black-violent-arrests-61acf712b13fc3c77dce76e508fa94c1 |access-date=July 5, 2023 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=June 27, 2023 |title=Deputies accused of abusing Black men are fired by Mississippi sheriff amid federal probe |url=https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-sherrifs-civil-rights-investigation-94b831ebfd8954c8a0fcce268f198139 |access-date=July 5, 2023 |website=AP News |language=en}}

{{PresHead|place=Rankin County, Mississippi|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 4, 2018}}}}

{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|1,124|1,975|9,224|Mississippi}}

Communities

=Cities=

Brandon (county seat)
Florence
Flowood
Jackson (mostly in Hinds County, also in Madison County)
Pearl
Richland

=Towns=

Pelahatchie

=Village=

Puckett

=Census-designated places=

=Other unincorporated communities=

=Former communities=

Education

Pearl Public School District and Rankin County School District are the two public school districts located in the county. The former serves the Pearl city limits, and the latter serves all other areas in Rankin County.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28121_rankin/DC20SD_C28121.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609212701/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28121_rankin/DC20SD_C28121.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Rankin County, MS|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=July 31, 2022}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28121_rankin/DC20SD_C28121_SD2MS.txt Text list]

Private schools located in the county are Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Jackson Preparatory School in Flowood, Park Place Christian Academy in Pearl, and East Rankin Academy in Pelahatchie.

Rankin County is in the district of Hinds Community College.{{cite web|url=https://hub.hindscc.edu/hubfs/Recruiting/admission_guide.pdf|title=Admission Guide 2019-2020|publisher=Hinds Community College|page=10 (PDF p. 12/20)|access-date=2024-09-27|quote=[...]located in the Hinds Community College District (Hinds, Rankin, Warren, Claiborne, and Copiah counties)[...]}} The college operates a Rankin Campus in Pearl.{{cite web|url=https://www.hindscc.edu/campuses/rankin|title=Rankin|publisher=Hinds Community College|access-date=2024-09-27}}