Hinds County, Mississippi

Hinds County, Mississippi
Hinds County courthouse in Raymond
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded	1821
Named for	Thomas Hinds
Seat	Jackson and Raymond
Largest city	Jackson
Area
• Total	877 sq mi (2,271 km2)
• Land	870 sq mi (2,253 km2)
• Water	7.6 sq mi (20 km2), 0.9%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	242,891
• Density	282/sq mi (109/km²)
Congressional districts	2nd, 3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.hinds.ms.us

Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 245,285, making it the most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seats are Raymond and Jackson, the state capital. The county is named for General Thomas Hinds, a hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

Hinds County is part of the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is a center of professional, educational, business and industrial elites in the state. It is bordered on the northwest by the Big Black River and on the east by the Pearl River. It is one county width away from the Yazoo River and the southern border of the Mississippi Delta. In the 19th century, the rural areas of the county were devoted to cotton plantations worked by enslaved African Americans and depended on agriculture well into the 20th century.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 877 square miles (2,270 km²), of which 870 square miles (2,300 km²) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km²) (0.9%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Mississippi by land area and fifth-largest by total area.

The following public-use airports are located in Hinds County:

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 245,285 people residing in the county. 69.1% were Black or African American, 28.4% White, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 1.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).