Jasper County, Mississippi

Jasper County is a county in Mississippi, United States, in the east-central part of the state along Interstate 59. It had a population of 16,367 at the 2020 census and covers 677 square miles (1,750 km2) centred near 32°01′N 89°07′W.

Bay Springs is the county seat; its postal code is 39422. Paulding, in the eastern half of the county, has also served as a co-equal seat since an 1906 legislative act split the county’s court system in two. Jasper County has 4 incorporated municipalities and roughly two dozen other unincorporated communities and crossroads, and it observes the Central time zone.

Towns & Villages in Jasper County

Jasper County’s map carries four incorporated municipalities — one city and three towns — alongside about two dozen unincorporated communities and rural crossroads scattered across its piney-woods landscape. Most of the smaller names below are historic post-office or church-and-store communities rather than mapped towns; population and ZIP figures are shown only where a reliable source confirms them.

Bay Springs and Paulding sit on opposite sides of the county and both carry the “seat” designation — a legacy of the 1906 law that gave each half of Jasper County its own courthouse rather than force residents to travel the length of the county on the roads of the day. A modern paved road link between the two halves wasn’t completed until the mid-1930s.

ZIP Codes

• 39422 — Bay Springs
• 39439 — Heidelberg
• 39338 — Louin
• 39481 — Stringer
• 39366 — Vossburg
• 39356 — Rose Hill
• 39348 — Paulding
• 39460 — Moss (PO Box only)

Montrose, Garlandville, and most of the smaller crossroads communities share a ZIP code with their nearest post-office town rather than having one of their own.

Geography

Jasper County lies in the Piney Woods of east-central Mississippi, a landscape of rolling, forested terrain drained by Tallahala Creek and its tributaries toward the Leaf River system. Of the county’s 677 square miles, 676 square miles are land and 1.2 square miles are water. The southeastern part of the county remains largely rural and is where most of the county’s oil, natural gas, timber, cattle, and poultry production takes place.

Jasper County borders Newton County to the north, Clarke County to the east, Wayne County to the southeast, Jones County to the south, and Smith County to the west.

Demographics

Jasper County had 16,367 residents at the 2020 census, for a density of about 24 people per square mile. Bay Springs and Heidelberg are its two largest communities. The county’s median household income runs well below the Mississippi median of $54,203, consistent with its largely rural, resource-based economy.

Economy & Local Life

Jasper County has long led Mississippi in timber, cattle, and poultry production, and it is also one of the state’s larger producers of oil and natural gas, concentrated in the still-rural southeastern part of the county. Bay Springs and Heidelberg serve as the county’s retail and civic centers, and the county is part of the Laurel, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area, drawing on Laurel and the Hattiesburg area for larger shopping, healthcare, and employment.

History

Jasper County was organized in 1833 and named for Sergeant William Jasper, a Continental Army soldier killed defending Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, during the Revolutionary War. In 1906, the Mississippi legislature split the county’s judicial administration between two courts — one at Paulding, the original seat in the eastern part of the county, and one at Bay Springs in the west, where the railroad had already brought faster growth. Bay Springs went on to outgrow Paulding, but no permanent, all-weather road connected the two halves of the county until 1935–1936.

Getting There

Interstate 59 crosses the western side of Jasper County, with US Highway 11 running parallel through the same corridor; Mississippi Highways 15, 18, 503, 513, 528, 531, and 533 serve the rest of the county.

• Laurel — about 20 miles south
• Meridian — about 35 miles east
• Newton — about 15 miles north
• Quitman — about 15 miles east

The nearest commercial airport is Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport, south of the county via I-59.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Jasper County, Mississippi?
It sits in east-central Mississippi along Interstate 59, bordered by Newton, Clarke, Wayne, Jones, and Smith counties.

What is the population of Jasper County?
16,367 people at the 2020 census.

How big is Jasper County?
677 square miles (1,750 km2), of which 676 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Jasper County?
Bay Springs is the county seat; Paulding, the original 1833 seat, has also functioned as a co-equal seat since 1906.

How many towns are in Jasper County?
Four incorporated municipalities — Bay Springs, Heidelberg, Louin, and Montrose — plus about two dozen unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Jasper County?
39422 (Bay Springs), 39439 (Heidelberg), 39338 (Louin), 39481 (Stringer), 39366 (Vossburg), 39356 (Rose Hill), 39348 (Paulding), and 39460 (Moss).

Why does Jasper County have two county seats?
An 1906 Mississippi legislative act split the county’s court system between Paulding in the east and Bay Springs in the west because the roads of the day made a single seat impractical for the whole county.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Mississippi.