Tunica County is a county in Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta along the east bank of the Mississippi River. It had a population of 9,782 at the 2020 census and covers 481 square miles (1,246 km2) centred near 34°40′N 90°23′W.
Tunica is the county seat, and its postal code is 38676. The county has one incorporated town, five census-designated places, and more than a dozen unincorporated communities and river landings. Tunica County is in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Tunica County
Tunica County has 32 named places: one incorporated town, five census-designated places (CDP), and 26 unincorporated communities, many of them former Mississippi River steamboat landings. The table below lists every settlement carried forward from the county’s records.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunica | City · seat | — | 38676 |
| Austin | CDP | — | 38676 |
| Dundee | CDP | — | 38626 |
| North Tunica | CDP | — | 38676 |
| Tunica Resorts | CDP | — | 38664 |
| White Oak | CDP | — | — |
| Banks | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bowdre | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Clack | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Clayton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Commerce | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Commerce Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dooley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dubbs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Eagle Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Evansville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fox Island | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gerlach Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Green River | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hally | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hamlin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Harbert Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hollywood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Little Texas | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lost Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maud | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mhoon Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pink | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Prichard | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Saint Francis Island Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tibbs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Trotter Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
Tunica is the only incorporated municipality in the county; the town of Robinsonville was renamed Tunica Resorts after the county’s casino district grew up around it in the 1990s, so the older name still appears on some maps and older records for the same place.
ZIP Codes
- 38676 — Tunica (also serves Austin and North Tunica)
- 38664 — Robinsonville (serves the Tunica Resorts casino district)
- 38626 — Dundee
- 38670 — Sledge (post office town shared with neighboring Quitman County)
Most of the unincorporated river landings and rural communities in the county have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the Tunica or Dundee post offices.
Geography
Tunica County sits in the flat alluvial Mississippi Delta on the east bank of the Mississippi River, which forms its western border. The land is low-lying farmland broken by bayous, oxbow lakes and old river landings; Moon Lake, an oxbow lake northwest of the town of Tunica, is the county’s best-known body of water. Of the county’s 481 square miles, 455 square miles are land and 26 square miles are water.
Tunica County borders Crittenden County, Arkansas, to the northwest across the Mississippi River; DeSoto County, Mississippi (DeSoto County), to the northeast; Tate County (Tate County) to the east; Panola County (Panola County) to the southeast; Quitman County, Mississippi (Quitman County), to the south; Coahoma County (Coahoma County) to the southwest; and Phillips County, Arkansas (Phillips County), and Lee County, Arkansas (Lee County), to the west across the river.
Demographics
Tunica County had 9,782 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 21 people per square mile of land. Tunica, the county seat, and North Tunica are its two largest population centers. Median household income in the county runs well below the Mississippi median of $54,203, reflecting the Delta’s persistent rural poverty even as casino jobs have brought new payrolls to the area since the 1990s.
Economy & Local Life
Tunica County’s economy is dominated by casino gaming: the Tunica Resorts district along Highway 61 has hosted a cluster of large casino-hotels since the early 1990s, once ranking among the top gambling markets in the country outside Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Agriculture, chiefly cotton, soybeans, corn and rice on the Delta’s rich alluvial soil, remains the county’s other major employer. The county school district and Tunica County government are also significant local employers.
History
Tunica County was organized in 1836 and takes its name from the Tunica people, who once lived along this stretch of the Mississippi River before most moved south into central Louisiana during the colonial era. For much of the 20th century the county was one of the poorest in the United States, with a plantation-based cotton economy that left few other industries behind. The arrival of casino gaming after Mississippi legalized dockside gambling in 1990 reshaped the county’s economy and tax base within a few years, funding new schools, roads and a museum devoted to Delta blues and county history.
Getting There
U.S. Route 61 runs the length of the county north-south, and Interstate 69 crosses its northern end; Mississippi Highways 3 and 4 provide east-west connections. Approximate distances from Tunica:
- Memphis, Tennessee — 30 miles north
- Clarksdale, Mississippi — 25 miles south
- Hernando, Mississippi — 25 miles east
- Helena, Arkansas — 20 miles west
Memphis International Airport, the nearest commercial airport, is about 35 miles north of Tunica.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tunica County?
Tunica County is in the northwestern corner of Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta on the east bank of the Mississippi River, about 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee.
What is the population of Tunica County?
Tunica County had a population of 9,782 at the 2020 census.
How big is Tunica County?
The county covers 481 square miles (1,246 km2), of which 455 square miles are land and 26 square miles are water.
What is the county seat of Tunica County?
Tunica is the county seat.
How many towns are in Tunica County?
Tunica County has one incorporated town (Tunica), five census-designated places, and about two dozen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Tunica County?
The main ZIP codes are 38676 (Tunica), 38664 (Robinsonville/Tunica Resorts), 38626 (Dundee) and 38670 (Sledge).
What is Tunica County known for?
Tunica County is known for the Tunica Resorts casino district, one of the largest concentrations of casino gaming in the South, and for its Mississippi Delta cotton and soybean farms.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Mississippi.