Exiting Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. - For three consecutive years, the U.S. Census Bureau is estimating that Mississippi’s population continues to fall - losing nearly 8,000 people to out-migration (more moving away than moving in). Overall, the Magnolia State lost about 1,300 people between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017. The population is estimated to be 2.98 million. Mississippi is the only southern state, besides West Virginia, seeing outmigration. John Green, a University of Mississippi professor who heads the school’s Center for Population Studies, says people are leaving in “search for socio-economic opportunities and well-being.” The state’s recovery from the 2008 recession has been one of the nation’s weakest. Those leaving appear to be the young and more educated, he continued. Only half of the graduates of state’s eight public universities are working in the state five years after graduation. Mississippi is one of eight states estimated to lose population. Louisiana is another. (Source: Clarion Ledger 12/21/17)