Hancock County
Also known as Hancock County, Mississippi, Hancock County, MS
county in Mississippi, United States
Key facts
- Country
- United States
- State
- Mississippi
- Named after
- John Hancock
- Seat
- Bay St. Louis
- Largest city
- Bay St. Louis
- Total
- 553 sq mi (1,430 km )
- Land
- 474 sq mi (1,230 km )
- Water
- 79 sq mi (200 km ) 14%
- Estimate 2025
- 46,873
- Density
- 97.2/sq mi (37.5/km )
- Time zone
- UTC−6 ( Central )
- Summer dst
- UTC−5 ( CDT )
- Congressional district
Article
Hancock County is the southernmost county of the U.S. state of Mississippi and is named for Founding Father John Hancock. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,053. Its county seat is Bay St. Louis. Hancock County is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is situated along the Gulf of Mexico and the state line with Louisiana. The area is home to the John C. Stennis Space Center, NASA's largest rocket engine test facility. The county was severely damaged from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which caused a huge storm surge and catastrophic damage.
History