The Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the central region of the U.S. state of Mississippi that covers five counties: Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, and Simpson. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 539,057. According to 2012 estimates, the metro area's population has increased to 576,800.
As of the census of 2000, there were 497,197 people, 180,556 households, and 127,704 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 53.02% White, 45.29% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population.
The area that is now Jackson was initially referred to as Parker'ville. A trading post was set up there by Louis LeFleur, a French Canadian trader, on the historic Natchez Trace trade route. This was before the Choctaw ceded land under the Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1820, and the US formally opened the area for settlement by non-Native American settlers.