Demographics of Mccomb, MS
Affluence Level in Mccomb, MS
A below-average socioeconomic profile. Incomes, home values, and educational attainment trail the U.S., with higher poverty and unemployment.
People of Mccomb, MS
McComb, Mississippi, is a city of roughly 12,200 residents with a distinctly Southern character shaped by its railroad and industrial roots. The population is predominantly Black (75.0%), with a White minority of 21.8% and small Hispanic (2.1%) and Asian (0.4%) communities. The city’s identity is marked by a working-class heritage, a strong sense of local history, and a demographic profile that has remained relatively stable over recent decades.
How the city was settled and grew
McComb was founded in 1872 as a planned railroad town for the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad (later part of the Illinois Central Railroad). The original population was drawn by jobs in the railroad shops and yards, which became the city’s economic engine. The earliest settlers were a mix of white mechanics, engineers, and managers from the North and Midwest, alongside Black laborers from the surrounding Mississippi countryside who built and maintained the rail infrastructure. These groups settled in distinct neighborhoods from the start. The South McComb area, south of the railroad tracks, became the primary residential area for Black workers and their families, while white railroad employees and professionals concentrated in North McComb, closer to the downtown commercial district. By the early 20th century, the city’s population had grown to over 4,000, with the railroad employing roughly one-third of all workers. A second wave of growth came during the 1920s and 1930s as the railroad expanded and related industries—such as lumber and crosstie production—took root. The Summit Street corridor and the Edgewood Park neighborhood developed as middle-class white enclaves during this period, while Black families continued to fill South McComb and the Bates Addition area. The city’s population peaked at around 13,000 in the 1960s, supported by a stable railroad economy and the growth of local manufacturing.
Modern era (post-1965)
After the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act, McComb saw very little new immigration—the foreign-born population today is just 0.4%, one of the lowest rates in Mississippi. The major demographic shift of the modern era has been domestic: the gradual out-migration of white families to suburban and exurban areas, and the corresponding increase in the Black population share. In 1970, McComb was roughly 55% White and 44% Black; by 2020, those proportions had nearly reversed. This white flight was driven by school desegregation orders in the 1970s and the decline of the railroad industry, which eliminated many skilled white-collar jobs. The North McComb and Edgewood Park neighborhoods saw significant white population loss, with many families relocating to nearby unincorporated areas like Fernwood or to the larger city of Jackson. Meanwhile, the Black population consolidated in South McComb, Bates Addition, and the Riverside area. The Hispanic population, though small at 2.1%, has grown modestly since 2000, largely through labor migration to poultry processing plants in surrounding Pike County. These families have settled primarily in the South McComb corridor, near affordable housing and industrial employment. The East/Southeast Asian community (0.1%) and Indian-subcontinent community (0.3%) remain tiny, with no distinct neighborhood concentration.
The future
McComb’s population is projected to remain flat or decline slightly over the next decade, as the city continues to lose young adults to larger metro areas. The Black population share is likely to stabilize or increase modestly, as the remaining white population skews older and continues to age in place. The Hispanic share may grow slowly, but is unlikely to reach 5% by 2035 given the lack of chain migration or new industrial recruitment. The city is not tribalizing into new enclaves; rather, it is homogenizing into a predominantly Black, working-class community with a small white minority concentrated in the older, more affluent northern neighborhoods. For a new resident, this means a city with a strong sense of local identity, low housing costs, and a population that is culturally and economically cohesive—but also one with limited ethnic diversity and a shrinking tax base.
McComb is becoming a smaller, more homogeneous city—a place where the railroad-era neighborhoods still define the social map, and where the demographic future is one of slow decline rather than renewal. For a conservative-leaning individual or family considering relocation, the city offers affordability and a tight-knit community, but also a population that is overwhelmingly Black and working-class, with little of the suburban diversity or growth found in Mississippi’s larger metros.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-04-21T17:22:45.000Z
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