Counties with the oldest homes in Mississippi
Counties with the oldest homes in Mississippi
There's an undeniable charm that comes with pre-World War II American architecture, characterized by high ceilings, crown molding, hardwood floors, and ornate details. In fact, 11.4% of all housing units in America were built in 1939 or before, showing the popularity of the preservation of these units. Owning a piece of history can sometimes come with a cost: Many old homes come with asbestos, lead piping, knob-and-tube wiring, and other outdated building styles that can rack up a hefty price tag to modernize. However, with more and more modernized pre-war homes on the market, generally located just outside bustling downtown metros, investing in property that has withstood the test of time is an attractive prospect.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties in Mississippi with the oldest homes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by median year the structure was built according to 2023 5-year estimates. Ties broken by the highest percentage of homes built before 1939.
The country's domestic architecture is perhaps best characterized by a rugged individualism as opposed to the hybridization of disparate architectural elements. As Maya Angelou once perceptively observed, "the ache for home lives in all of us," a phrase that has meant very different things to different people.
Modest or palatial, there is no shortage of noteworthy homes in the U.S. Log cabins constructed by industrious pioneers have dotted the landscape alongside traditional Native American dwellings ever since immigrant Swedes introduced them to the New World in 1638. The unprecedented personal fortunes amassed by the so-called "Robber Barons" at the close of the 19th century gave way to the construction of a staggering number of Gilded Age estates.
The ravages of time spared neither the sumptuous nor the humble. Stately mansions, often prohibitively costly to maintain in the modern era, were frequently neglected; simple structures were forgotten, discarded by their owners, and damaged by natural elements. However, the tireless efforts of architectural preservationists and local historical societies have saved many of these homes from demolition, leading to their inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and thereby safeguarding them for future generations.
Keep reading to learn more about which counties in Mississippi have the oldest homes.
#50. Jefferson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.8% (127 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.4% (47 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,383
#49. Newton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.7% (433 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (87 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,145
#48. Simpson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.2% (611 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (41 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,661
#47. Lincoln County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.3% (834 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (106 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,885
#46. Itawamba County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.3% (351 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (105 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,515
#45. Smith County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.5% (299 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.1% (140 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,684
#44. Choctaw County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.3% (275 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (31 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,363
#43. Holmes County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.9% (525 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (8 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,573
#42. Pike County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.7% (1,469 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (99 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,109
#41. Lawrence County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.6% (264 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (49 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,766
#40. Wilkinson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.7% (262 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (35 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,600
#39. Neshoba County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.1% (740 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (136 homes)
- Total homes built: 12,086
#38. Jones County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.7% (1,913 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.2% (348 homes)
- Total homes built: 28,710
#37. Webster County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.8% (397 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (57 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,094
#36. Leake County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.5% (313 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.9% (84 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,054
#35. Alcorn County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.9% (628 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (86 homes)
- Total homes built: 16,242
#34. Prentiss County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.9% (431 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (52 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,029
#33. Claiborne County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.4% (175 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (12 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,949
#32. Benton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.8% (198 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (71 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,100
#31. Lowndes County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.3% (1,422 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (81 homes)
- Total homes built: 27,044
#30. Calhoun County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.5% (368 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.0% (0 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,744
#29. Attala County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.6% (464 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (35 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,341
#28. Forrest County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.4% (2,171 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (239 homes)
- Total homes built: 33,672
#27. Yalobusha County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.7% (432 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.6% (102 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,476
#26. Clay County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.7% (603 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (65 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,035
#25. Walthall County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.0% (274 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (17 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,883
#24. Tishomingo County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.7% (500 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.6% (167 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,549
#23. Grenada County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.0% (628 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (17 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,418
#22. Marion County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.3% (707 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (39 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,165
#21. Montgomery County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.4% (395 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.3% (68 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,349
#20. Franklin County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.8% (379 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (7 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,303
#19. Humphreys County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.4% (190 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (27 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,529
#18. Lauderdale County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.8% (1,960 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (59 homes)
- Total homes built: 33,558
#17. Winston County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.1% (499 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (62 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,231
#16. Kemper County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.0% (274 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.0% (0 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,937
#15. Yazoo County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.0% (731 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (40 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,473
#14. Monroe County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.2% (1,203 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.3% (218 homes)
- Total homes built: 16,790
#13. Chickasaw County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.5% (433 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (83 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,817
#12. Tallahatchie County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.0% (329 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.2% (121 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,488
#11. Noxubee County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.2% (437 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (48 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,728
#10. Sharkey County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.3% (55 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (8 homes)
- Total homes built: 1,673
#9. Bolivar County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.3% (855 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (64 homes)
- Total homes built: 13,679
#8. Warren County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.4% (1,803 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (237 homes)
- Total homes built: 21,542
#7. Sunflower County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.8% (641 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (49 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,415
#6. Leflore County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.4% (931 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (80 homes)
- Total homes built: 12,643
#5. Hinds County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.7% (3,880 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (373 homes)
- Total homes built: 106,225
#4. Washington County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.9% (1,016 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (65 homes)
- Total homes built: 20,894
#3. Quitman County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.7% (144 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (5 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,045
#2. Coahoma County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.0% (812 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (64 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,188
#1. Adams County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.1% (1,356 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (55 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,920