Rankin

Formed February 4, 1828 (25^th county)

Rankin County (157,026), Brandon (25,127), Pearl (27,117)

The tan brick Italian Renaissance and Classical Revival courthouse, built in 1925, is on Government Street between Town Square and North Street.  United States Highway 80 is in front of the site.  Noah Webster Overstreet is the building designer.  The courthouse was enlarged in 1957.  A Justice Center has been added in 2000 for the county.  A Juvenile Justice Center was built in Pelahatchie in 2011.  There was an 1853 courthouse in Brandon, the only county seat.  Rankin County was established on February 4, 1828 from Hinds County as the 25^th county.  It is named for Congressman Christopher Rankin.  The county seat is named for Governor Gerard Brandon.  Rankin County was the birthplace for 3 Mississippi Governors, Anselm J. McLaurin, Henry L. Whitfield, and J. Tate Reeves. 

Rankin County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Three Chancery Court Judges, Two County Court Judges and a court clerk serve Rankin County and Three District Court Judges serve Rankin and Madison counties (judicial.) Rankin County is in south central Mississippi.  Jackson, Mississippi is directly to the west of the county.  The county center is 6.5 miles East of Brandon.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Madison, Scott, Smith, Simpson, Copiah and Hinds counties. 

The area of the county is 775 square miles.  It is 7 out of 82 in the state.  It ranks 4 out of 82 in population in the state.  It has a density of 202.6 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 82 in the state.  Rankin County has 48.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 crosses the county east to west from Scott County to Hinds County.  United States Highway 49 passes northwest to southeast from Hinds County to Simpson County.  United States Highway 80 parallels Interstate Highway 20 from Scott to Hinds counties.  The county’s shape is an overall triangle.  Branson is in the western third of the county.  Pearl is on the western border of the county.  Branson is the county seat and Pearl is the largest city.  Branson is 16.0% of the county population while Pearl is 17.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.