General Description
Smith County is one of 82 counties in Mississippi, and is located in the south central section of the state. The county has a land area of 635 square miles, and is bordered by Scott County to the north, Simpson County to the west, Jasper County to the east and Covington County to the south.

The County seat, the City of Raleigh, is located approximately 263 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee; approximately 53 miles southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, the State capital; and approximately 175 miles north of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Population
The population of the County has been recorded as follows, according to the US Census Bureau.

1970	1980	1990	2000
13,561	15,077	14,798	16,182

Retail Sales

State Fiscal Year Ended June 30	Amount
2004	$60,259,342
2003	58,574,207
2002	50,894,666
2001	50,367.508
2000	74,110,702

Educational Facilities

The Smith County School District (the "District") serves the entire area of the County. The District currently operates four (4) schools and employs a total of approximately 392 people. The District's educational facilities include three (3) elementary schools, three (3) high schools and one (1) vocational complex.

Enrollment figures for the District for the scholastic year 2004-5 and for the four preceding years are as follows:

Scholastic Year	Enrollment
2004-05	3,017
2003-04	3,118
2002-03	2,061
2001-02	3,035
2000-01	3,077

Per Capita Income
Information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis: Regional Economic Accounts at website: www.bea.gov

Year	County	Mississippi	United States	County as % of US
2002	$21,048	$22,550	$30,906	68%
2001	21,868	21,967	30,527	72%
2000	19,687	21,007	29,847	66%
1999	19,626	20,053	27,939	70%
1998	19,548	19,545	26,883	73%

Major Employers

The following is a partial listing of major employers in the County their products or services and their approximate number of imployees:

Employer	Employees	Product/Service
Georgia-Pacific Plywood Plant	460	Hardwood, plywood manufacturer
Solar Group, Inc	400	Builders' Hardware
Remy Reman-Raleigh	200	Engine electrical equipment
Georgia Pacific Particleboard Plant	160	Particleboard producer
Warmkraft, Inc.	150	Small electrical household appliances
Georgia-Pacific Resins	80	Chemical resins manufacturer

Assessed Valuation of the County
Information from the Office of the Chancery Clerk, Smith County.

Assessment Year	Real Property	Personal Property	Public Utility Property	Total
2004	$48,655.415	$35,829,294	$5,701,521	$90,186,230
2003	46,582,117	36,956,433	5,211,903	88,750,453
2002	44,905,420	36,456,030	5,135,318	86,496,768
2001	37,559,146	36,719,530	4,975,179	79,253,855
2000	39,713,966	36,007,681	5,005,207	80,726,854

 

Assessed valuations are based upon the following assessment ratios:

The 1986 Session of the Mississippi Legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 41 ("the Resolution"), pursuant to which there was proposed an amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 (the "Amendment"). The Amendment provided, inter alia, that the assessment ratio of any one class of property shall not be more than three times the assessment ratio on any other class of property.
The Amendment set forth five classes of property and the assessment ratios which would be applicable thereto upon the adoption of the Amendment. The assessment ratios set forth in the Amendment are identical to those established by Section 27-35-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, as it existed prior to the Amendment, except that the assessment ratio for single-family, owner-occupied residential real property under the Amendment is set at ten percent (10%) of true value as opposed to fifteen percent (15%) of true value under previously existing law.

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For a summary of Smith County
Agricultural Information
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Did you know???

Mississippi produced 350 million pounds, or 55% of all U.S. catfish production in 2005.