The U.S. state of Mississippi has 82 counties. The first two counties, Adams County and Pickering County (renamed Jefferson County later), were established in 1799 in the Mississippi Territory. 14 counties, all in the southwest, were created before the Mississippi Territory became a state in 1817. The last county created was Humphreys County in 1918. The Mississippi Constitution governs the creation of new counties, which requires an election of qualified electors to approve of the creation of a new county. Elections are limited to once every four years. Any new county must be at least , with no existing county reduced below that size.
The county governing body, known as the Board of Supervisors, is located under the judicial branch of state government as established in the 1817 Mississippi Constitution. The 1868 Constitution mandated five-member Board of Supervisors, an evolution of the five-member board of police created in the 1832 Constitution. Supervisors are elected without term limits. County government includes other elected and appointed officials who serve concurrent four-year terms. Major elected officials include the chancery clerk, who manages records and administrative tasks for the supervisors and chancery court; the circuit clerk, who handles election administration duties; and the sheriff, who functions as the chief of county law enforcement. Other elected officials include the constables, justice court judges, and the tax assessor or collector (23 counties have separate officials). Counties have either one of two county seats, depending on the number of court districts. 19 counties have names with Native American etymologies.
| region_seat_width =
| region_seat_title = County seat
| region_seat_ref =
| data1_width =
| data1_title = Smithsonian Trinomial
| data1_ref =
| data2_width =
| data2_title =
| data2_ref =
| population_year = 2025
| population_ref =
| area_ref =
| area_type = Total Area
|}
Former counties
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
! scope="row" | County
! scope="col" | Established
! scope="col" | Abolished
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
! scope="row" | Bainbridge County
|January 17, 1823
|January 21, 1824
|Created from Covington County, it was eventually subsumed back into it a year later.
| align="center" |
|}
See also
- List of municipalities in Mississippi
- List of census-designated places in Mississippi