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Demographics of Gulfport, MS
Affluence Level in Gulfport, MS
A below-average socioeconomic profile. Incomes, home values, and educational attainment trail the U.S., with higher poverty and unemployment.
People of Gulfport, MS
The people of Gulfport, Mississippi, today number roughly 72,500, forming a city that is nearly evenly split between White (48.7%) and Black (37.8%) populations, with a small but growing Hispanic community (5.9%) and a very low foreign-born share of just 1.7%. This is a working-class, hurricane-resilient population with a distinctly Southern character—only 22.3% hold a college degree, and the city feels more like a collection of tight-knit neighborhoods than a sprawling metro. The dominant identity markers are a deep-rooted sense of place, a strong military and maritime influence from nearby Keesler Air Force Base and the Port of Gulfport, and a demographic stability that sets it apart from faster-changing Gulf Coast cities.
How the city was settled and grew
Gulfport was founded in 1887 as a planned railroad terminus and deep-water port, not as a gradual colonial settlement. The original population was drawn by the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad, which needed laborers to build the port and rail lines. Early waves included White lumber workers and merchants from the interior South, along with Black laborers—many formerly enslaved or their children—who came from rural Mississippi and Louisiana to work the docks, sawmills, and turpentine camps. By 1900, the city had roughly 1,000 residents, and the first distinct neighborhoods emerged: the Soria City area (north of the tracks) became a working-class White enclave, while the Depot District around the train station housed a mix of Black dockworkers and railroad employees. The 1910s and 1920s brought a second wave: Cajun and Acadian families from Louisiana, fleeing the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and seeking work in the seafood and canning industries. They settled in the Handsboro area, a historic fishing village that Gulfport annexed in the 1960s, where their descendants remain a visible cultural presence. The city grew steadily through the mid-20th century, reaching 30,000 by 1950, fueled by the expansion of Keesler Air Force Base (opened 1941) and the port's role in shipping lumber, bananas, and seafood.
Modern era (post-1965)
After the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act, Gulfport saw only modest immigration—its foreign-born share remains under 2%—but significant domestic shifts reshaped the city. The 1970s and 1980s brought a wave of Black families from rural Mississippi and Louisiana, part of the broader Great Migration's later stage, who moved into the Turkey Creek community, a historic Black settlement founded by freedmen in the 1860s that became a stable, multigenerational neighborhood. White flight to unincorporated Harrison County accelerated after school desegregation in the 1970s, with many families relocating to the Orange Grove area (east of the city limits), which remains predominantly White and more affluent today. The Hispanic population, now 5.9%, began growing in the 1990s, driven by construction and service jobs after Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the subsequent rebuilding boom. Most Hispanic residents are Mexican or Central American, and they have concentrated in the north-central neighborhoods around 28th Avenue, where small tiendas and churches have appeared. The East/Southeast Asian community (1.4%) is largely Vietnamese and Filipino, tied to the seafood industry and military connections, with a small cluster near the port. The Indian-subcontinent population (0.1%) is negligible, mostly professionals at the base or the Gulfport VA Medical Center. The Black share has held steady near 38% since 2000, while the White share has declined from 55% to 48.7% as the Hispanic and Asian shares have inched upward.
The future
Gulfport's population is likely to remain stable in size but slowly diversify. The Hispanic share is projected to reach 8-10% by 2035, driven by natural increase and continued labor demand in construction, hospitality, and port logistics. The East/Southeast Asian community will likely grow modestly through military transfers and family reunification, but the foreign-born share will stay below 5%—Gulfport lacks the job base or immigrant networks of larger metros. The Black population is expected to remain near 38-40%, as the city's affordable housing and established Black neighborhoods (Turkey Creek, the Depot District) anchor families. The White share will continue a slow decline, but the city is not tribalizing into hostile enclaves; rather, neighborhoods are becoming slightly more mixed, especially in the central corridor. The biggest demographic wildcard is climate-driven migration: if hurricanes intensify, Gulfport could see out-migration of wealthier residents to higher ground inland, while lower-income families—disproportionately Black and Hispanic—may stay due to housing costs and family ties.
For someone moving in now, Gulfport is becoming a more diverse, still deeply Southern city where neighborhood identity matters more than racial tension. The population is stable, rooted, and resistant to rapid change—a place where the past is still visible in the names of neighborhoods like Handsboro and Turkey Creek, and where the future looks more like a slow evolution than a transformation.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-04-29T18:49:47.000Z
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