Long Beach is a city located in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 15,829.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 3.74% is covered by water.

thumb|300px|Long Beach (map center) is east of [[Pass Christian, Mississippi|Pass Christian and west of Gulfport, along the Gulf of Mexico|alt=|left]]

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Long Beach had a population of 16,780. The median age was 40.8 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.3% were age 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

99.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 6,785 households in Long Beach, including 4,243 families. Of all households, 31.1% had children under age 18 living in them. Married-couple households made up 46.1% of households, while 16.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present and 30.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.0% of households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone age 65 or older.

A productive truck farming town in the early 20th century, citizens of Long Beach proclaimed the city to be the "Radish Capital of the World". The city was especially known for its cultivation of the Long Red radish variety, a favorite beer hall staple in the northern US at the time. In 1921, a bumper crop resulted in the shipment of over 300 trainloads of Long Beach's Long Red radishes to northern states.

Eventually, the Long Red radishes for which Long Beach was known fell into disfavor, and the rise of the common button radish caused a dramatic decline in the cultivation of this crop in the area.

The city of Long Beach, California, held a fund raiser to help its eponymous relative. The city of Peoria, Arizona, adopted Long Beach and provided both public and private resources. This resulted in a close relationship between the two communities.

Today

Today, the city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Residents are returning as beaches and condominiums in the area are being repaired, but the city has not seen a return of business to pre-Katrina levels due in part to building codes on the beach established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and to the economic downturn.

Notable people

  • Richard Bennett, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
  • Hale Boggs, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and House majority leader and a member of the Warren Commission
  • Ted N. Branch, retired vice admiral in the United States Navy and former Director of Naval Intelligence
  • Myles Brennan, quarterback for the LSU Tigers
  • Richie Brown, NFL player
  • Nick James, former professional defensive tackle
  • Shea Kerry, writer/producer
  • Gerald McRaney, film and television actor

References

  • City of Long Beach official website