Forrest County is a county in Mississippi, United States, in the Pine Belt region of the south-central part of the state. It had a population of 78,158 at the 2020 census and covers 466 square miles (1,210 km2) of land centred near 31\u00b011\u2032N 89\u00b016\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Hattiesburg is the county seat, and its postal code is 39401. The county has two incorporated cities, three census-designated places, and roughly fifty unincorporated communities and residential subdivisions. Forrest County sits in the Central time zone and forms the core of the Hattiesburg, MS metropolitan area, anchored by the University of Southern Mississippi and Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center.<\/p>\n
Forrest County has two incorporated cities — Hattiesburg and Petal — plus three census-designated places (Eastabuchie, Glendale, Rawls Springs) and a long list of unincorporated communities, mobile-home subdivisions, and rural neighborhoods scattered across the county’s pine-forest interior. CDP = census-designated place, an unincorporated but statistically tracked community; Unincorp. = an unincorporated community with no municipal government.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hattiesburg<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39401–39407<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Petal<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39465<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eastabuchie<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39426<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Glendale<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39401<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rawls Springs<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39402<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Barron Point<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Barrontown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Batson<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bedford Woods<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bellecrest MH Village<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bonhomie<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bowie<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Broadway Trailer Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Brooklyn<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39425<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carnes<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carterville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Country Club Estates<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Currie<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dixie<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dixie Pine<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dragon<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eastside<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eatonville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Epps<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Forrest Garden MH Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Forrest Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Four Points<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fruitland Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gays MH Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Goodluck<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Harvey<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Heatherwood Estates<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Innswood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Innswood South<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kirkwood Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Leeville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Macedonia<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mars Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Maxie<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Maybank<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| McCallum<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| McLaurin<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Morriston<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Palmers Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39401<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Petal MH Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 39465<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pine Grove<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pistol Ridge<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Providence<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| R D MH Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ragland<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ralston<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Regency Estates<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Richburg Heights<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Riverside<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rock Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sharon Acres<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sunrise<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wallis<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Westwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Woodhaven<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Woodlawn Court<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n The old listing duplicated Dixie and Eastabuchie as separate rows; each appears once above. Two Camp Shelby-related unique ZIPs (39406, 39407) serve institutional addresses rather than residential communities and are not shown as separate places.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the county’s smaller unincorporated communities and mobile-home subdivisions share a Hattiesburg or Petal ZIP and have no post office of their own.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nForrest County lies in the Pine Belt of south Mississippi, within the Longleaf Pine Belt physiographic region and partly overlapped by the De Soto National Forest in its eastern and southern reaches. The Leaf River crosses the county and provided the water power that built Hattiesburg’s early sawmill industry; Black Creek and the Bowie River drain the county’s southern half. The county covers 466 square miles of land and 3.9 square miles of water.<\/p>\n Forrest County borders Jones County<\/a> to the northeast, Perry County to the east, Stone County to the south, Pearl River County to the southwest, Lamar County<\/a> to the west, and Covington County to the northwest.<\/p>\n Forrest County had 78,158 residents at the 2020 census, making it one of the more populous counties in the Pine Belt. Hattiesburg is by far the largest city, followed by Petal; together the two cities hold most of the county’s population, with the balance spread across Eastabuchie, Glendale, Rawls Springs, and dozens of smaller unincorporated communities. The county’s median household income runs below the Mississippi median of $54,203, reflecting Hattiesburg’s mix of student, service-sector, and healthcare-worker households. Population density is roughly 168 people per square mile of land.<\/p>\n Hattiesburg is a regional hub for education, healthcare, and retail. The University of Southern Mississippi is the county’s largest single employer and drives much of Hattiesburg’s economy and housing demand; Forrest General Hospital and William Carey University are two more major institutions. Camp Shelby, a Mississippi Army National Guard training installation partly within the county, adds a substantial defense-sector presence. Petal functions largely as a residential and small-retail suburb of Hattiesburg. Timber and pine-forest products remain part of the rural economy outside the cities.<\/p>\n Forrest County was created in 1908 from Perry County and named for Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate cavalry general in the Civil War who was later the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Hattiesburg, already established as a lumber-boom town founded in 1882 by William Harris Hardy, became the new county’s seat. The University of Southern Mississippi (originally Mississippi Normal College) opened in Hattiesburg in 1912, and Camp Shelby was established as a military training ground in 1917, both shaping the county’s growth through the 20th century.<\/p>\n Interstate 59 runs through the county connecting Hattiesburg to Meridian to the northeast and the Gulf Coast to the south; US Routes 11, 49, and 98 and Mississippi Highways 13 and 42 also cross the county.<\/p>\n Hattiesburg-Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport offers regional and general-aviation service; the nearest major commercial airport is Gulfport-Biloxi International, roughly 65 miles south.<\/p>\n Where is Forrest County, Mississippi?<\/strong> What is the population of Forrest County?<\/strong> How big is Forrest County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Forrest County?<\/strong> How many towns and cities are in Forrest County?<\/strong> |