Hancock County, Mississippi

Hancock County
County
Hancock County courthouse in Bay St. Louis
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°23′N 89°28′W / 30.39°N 89.47°W / 30.39; -89.47
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1812
Named for	John Hancock
Seat	Bay St. Louis
Largest city	Bay St. Louis
Area
• Total	553 sq mi (1,430 km2)
• Land	474 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Water	79 sq mi (200 km2)  14%
Population  (2020)
• Total	46,053
• Density	83/sq mi (32/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	hancockcounty.ms.gov

Hancock County is the southernmost county of the U.S. state of Mississippi and is named for Founding Father John Hancock.^[1] As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,053.^[2] Its county seat is Bay St. Louis.^[3]

Hancock County is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is situated along the Gulf of Mexico and the state line with Louisiana. The area is home to the John C. Stennis Space Center, NASA's largest rocket engine test facility.

The county was severely damaged from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which caused a huge storm surge and catastrophic damage.