Editing Washington County, Mississippi (section)

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 62,977 people, 22,158 households, and 15,931 families living in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|87|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 24,381 housing units at an average density of {{convert|34|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 69.57% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 33.97% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.09% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.53% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.25% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.57% from two or more races. 0.84% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

According to the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Washington County were [[African American|African]] 69.57%, [[English American|English]] 21.4%, [[Scottish American|Scottish]] 8.2% and [[Scots-Irish American|Scots-Irish]] 3.1%

Washington County by 2005 was 67.2% African-American in population. Latinos constituted 1.1% of the population in the county while non-Hispanic whites made up 31.7% of the population.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 22,158 households, out of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.60% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 26.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.50% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 87.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,757, and the median income for a family was $30,324. Males had a median income of $28,266 versus $20,223 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $13,430. About 24.90% of families and 29.20% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 38.40% of those under age 18 and 24.60% of those age 65 or over.

Washington County's demographics are rooted in the region's mid-nineteenth-century ascendance in cotton production and, accordingly, importation of people as slaves. According to the historian Sven Beckert, the county had "more than ten slaves for every white inhabitant" in 1840, and "every white family in the county held on average more than eighty slaves" by 1850.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Empire of Cotton: a Global History|last = Beckert|first = Sven|publisher = Knopf|year = 2014|location = New York}}</ref>