Decatur, Mississippi

Decatur, Mississippi
—  Town  —
Location of Decatur, Mississippi
Coordinates: 32°26′22″N 89°6′43″W / 32.43944°N 89.11194°W / 32.43944; -89.11194Coordinates: 32°26′22″N 89°6′43″W / 32.43944°N 89.11194°W / 32.43944; -89.11194
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Newton
Area
– Total	1.0 sq mi (2.7 km2)
– Land	1.0 sq mi (2.7 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	430 ft (131 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	1,426
– Density	1,379.9/sq mi (532.8/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	39327
Area code(s)	601
FIPS code	28-18180
GNIS feature ID	0669185
Website	http://www.decaturms.org/index.php

Decatur is a town in Newton County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,426 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Newton County^[1]. This town is named after war hero Stephen Decatur, Jr.

Geography

Decatur is located at 32°26′22″N 89°6′43″W / 32.43944°N 89.11194°W / 32.43944; -89.11194 (32.439557, -89.112047)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 1,426 people, 407 households, and 269 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,379.9 people per square mile (534.5/km²). There were 463 housing units at an average density of 448.0 per square mile (173.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 66.41% White, 32.54% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.14% Asian, and 0.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 407 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the town the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 41.8% from 18 to 24, 16.4% from 25 to 44, 14.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,333, and the median income for a family was $37,115. Males had a median income of $28,875 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,839. About 14.8% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Residents (Past & Present)

• Medgar Evers, Civil Rights Activist
• Marcus Thames, professional baseball player
• Charles Evers, first post-Reconstruction African American mayor in Mississippi

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.