Greene County is a county in Mississippi, United States, on the southeastern edge of the state along the Alabama line. It had a population of 13,530 at the 2020 census and covers 719 square miles (1,860 km2) centred near 31°13′N 88°38′W.
Leakesville is the county seat; its postal code is 39451. The county has three incorporated towns, one of which straddles the Wayne County line, and more than a dozen unincorporated communities. Greene County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Greene County
Greene County has three incorporated towns and a wide scatter of unincorporated communities and crossroads settlements. The table below lists the towns first, then the unincorporated places carried forward from county records; population figures marked — are unverified at the settlement level and are not published here as estimates.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leakesville | Town · seat | — | 39451 |
| McLain | Town | — | 39456 |
| State Line | Town | — | 39362 |
| Avera | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Avera | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Benjoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bothwell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bradley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brown Town | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Byrd | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Carson City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Clark | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dueitt | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hillman | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jonathan | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kittrell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Knobtown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Leaf | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Neely | Unincorp. | — | 39461 |
| Piave | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pisgah | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rounsaville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Royce | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sand Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Vernal | Unincorp. | — | — |
State Line sits on the Greene–Wayne county line, so part of the town lies in Wayne County next door. The old scrape listed “Leaf” twice; the duplicate has been removed here.
ZIP Codes
- 39451 — Leakesville (also serves Avera, Old Avera, Pisgah and the county-seat area)
- 39456 — McLain (also serves Carson City and Vernal)
- 39362 — State Line (also serves Bradley and the Alabama-line crossroads)
- 39461 — Neely
The smaller crossroads communities — Benjoe, Bothwell, Brown Town, Byrd, Clark, Dueitt, Hillman, Jonathan, Kittrell, Knobtown, Leaf, Piave, Rounsaville, Royce and Sand Hill — do not have their own post office and are covered by one of the four ZIPs above depending on location.
Geography
Greene County covers 719 square miles, of which 713 square miles are land and 5.9 square miles are water, roughly 0.8 percent of the county. The Leaf River and Chickasawhay River both cross the county on their way south to form the Pascagoula River, and much of the land outside the river bottoms is pine forest managed for timber. The terrain is gently rolling coastal-plain country typical of southeast Mississippi.
Greene County borders Wayne County to the north, Washington County, Alabama to the northeast, Mobile County, Alabama to the southeast, George County to the south, and Perry County to the west.
Demographics
Greene County had 13,530 residents at the 2020 census. Leakesville and McLain are its two largest incorporated communities. Mississippi’s 2023 median household income was the state median of $54,203; Greene County, a rural timber and corrections-economy county, typically runs below that figure, though a verified county-level estimate is not published here. Population density works out to roughly 19 people per square mile, one of the lower densities in south Mississippi.
Economy & Local Life
Timber and forest products are the traditional backbone of the Greene County economy, alongside farming and cattle in the river bottoms. The South Mississippi Correctional Institution, a state prison near Leakesville, is one of the county’s largest employers, holding roughly 3,000 inmates and accounting for about a fifth of Mississippi’s total prison population. Leakesville serves as the county’s retail and government center.
History
Greene County was organized in 1811, one of the oldest counties in the Mississippi Territory, and named for General Nathanael Greene of the American Revolutionary War. The land had been Choctaw territory before the Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the tribe west. Leakesville was established on the Chickasawhay River and grew as a river-landing and timber town through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Getting There
U.S. Highway 98 crosses the county east–west and U.S. Highway 45 runs along its western edge; Mississippi Highways 42, 57 and 63 provide the main local connections.
- Hattiesburg — 45 miles northwest
- Mobile, Alabama — 55 miles southeast
- Laurel — 50 miles north
- Waynesboro — 20 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama; Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport is a closer regional option to the northwest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Greene County, Mississippi?
It is in the southeastern corner of the state, on the Alabama line, roughly 45 miles southeast of Hattiesburg.
What is the population of Greene County?
Greene County had a population of 13,530 at the 2020 census.
How big is Greene County?
The county covers 719 square miles (1,860 km2), of which 713 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Greene County?
Leakesville is the county seat.
How many towns are in Greene County?
The county has three incorporated towns — Leakesville, McLain and State Line — plus around twenty unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Greene County?
Greene County uses four ZIP codes: 39451 (Leakesville), 39456 (McLain), 39362 (State Line) and 39461 (Neely).
What is Greene County’s biggest employer?
The South Mississippi Correctional Institution, a state prison near Leakesville, is one of the county’s largest employers.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Mississippi.