Retiring Guy's Digest: Population loss in Mississippi: Holmes County/Lexington

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Population loss in Mississippi: Holmes County/Lexington

It all started here.

Population loss as in major -- 50% or more.

Source: Wikipedia (Holmes County, Lexington)

Lexington is the county seat of Holmes County.

Population loss by degrees: 80-90%, 70-79%, 60-69%, 50-59%.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts

Percentage of population 25 and older with a bachelor's degree:

10.7% - Holmes County
21.3% - Mississippi
30.9% - U.S.

Percentage of population 65 and older:

15.0% - Holmes County
15.9% - Mississippi
16.0% - U.S.

% of population living in poverty:

40.8% - Holmes County
19.7% - Mississippi
11.8% - U.S.

The last time Holmes County voted for a Republican candidate for president was in 1964, when LBJ wasn't on the ballot. Clinton received 82.8% of the vote in 2016. George Wallace received 40.6% of the vote in 1968.

Lexington Public Library

Related reading:.
2 Nuns Are Killed in Mississippi: ‘The Sweetest People to Ever Draw a Breath’. (The New York Times, 8/26/2016)

Poverty is entrenched in the Mississippi city of Durant (population less than 3,000), but violent crime is hardly pervasive.

The Police Department website lists current statistics of one report each for lost property, theft and a harassing phone call. It has been years since Durant, which is about 65 miles north of Jackson, last recorded a murder, the authorities said.

But on Thursday, that close-knit sense of community and security was torn apart after two beloved nuns who worked at a medical clinic in a nearby town were found killed in their Durant home.