Clarksdale, Coahoma County, Mississippi Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Clarksdale, Mississippi, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The estimated population of Clarksdale, Mississippi is 15,124 people, with a median age of 35.2.

We can look at the total population in Clarksdale over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
15,124
-1.42% -8.78%
2020
15,342
-2.49% -
2019
15,734
-2.72% -
2018
16,174
-2.44% -
2017
16,579
- -

Population of Clarksdale, Mississippi by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
16.2%
17.4%
-6.90%
Black/African American
81.2%
81.3%
-0.12%
Native
0.2%
0.1%
+100.00%
Hispanic
0.5%
0%
0.00%
Asian
0.7%
0.7%
0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
0.00%
Two Or More Races
1%
0.5%
+100.00%
Other
0.1%
0%
0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Clarksdale, Mississippi by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 35.2 +1.44% 32.4 +4.52% 37.7 +1.34%
2020 34.7 +4.83% 31 +2.99% 37.2 +3.33%
2019 33.1 +0.3% 30.1 +3.44% 36 +0.28%
2018 33 +2.17% 29.1 -1.36% 35.9 +2.28%
2017 32.3 - 29.5 - 35.1 -

The median age of Clarksdale, Mississippi gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 1,325 -24.63% 1,521 -21.7% 1,022 1,216
10 to 19 1,290 +5.6% 1,235 -18.67% 1,363 1,007
20 to 29 1,177 -18.75% 1,245 -16.52% 966 1,049
30 to 39 829 -3.66% 1,052 -7.93% 797 970
40 to 49 752 -1.38% 1,057 -16.81% 740 886
50 to 59 834 -20.94% 1,095 -16.08% 664 925
60 to 69 743 +27.28% 861 +6.85% 967 916
70+ 498 +20.84% 1,065 -2.61% 606 1,030

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Clarksdale, Mississippi is $30,711.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Clarksdale.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $26,908.00
  • 45 to 64
    $32,886.00
  • 65 and over
    $32,320.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Clarksdale, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Clarksdale, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Clarksdale, Mississippi is currently $45,982.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

1.32% of households in Clarksdale are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Clarksdale against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    44.66%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    26.22%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    10.24%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    10.67%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    5.02%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1.86%
  • $200,000 or more
    1.32%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Clarksdale is $19,299.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Clarksdale by the total population of Clarksdale.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Clarksdale, Mississippi, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Clarksdale to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    12.39%
  • Bachelor's degree
    29.66%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    17.32%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    35.60%
  • Less than high school diploma
    5.02%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Clarksdale that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Clarksdale over the age of 16 is 11,530.

Of those people, a total of 49.50% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Clarksdale is 44.10%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 1,014 23.30% 36.90%
20 to 24 years 1,061 44.80% 26.10%
25 to 29 years 954 63.40% 9.30%
30 to 34 years 917 74.50% 20.80%
35 to 44 years 1,702 81.60% 5.80%
45 to 54 years 1,508 55.30% 2.80%
55 to 59 years 855 61.80% 8.70%
60 to 64 years 1,057 42.00% 2.00%
65 to 74 years 1,532 24.00% 13.90%
75 years and over 930 16.00% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Clarksdale. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 2,162 41.90% 3.10%
Black or African American 9,209 50.80% 12.60%
American Indian and Alaska Native 35 100.00% 0.00%
Asian 75 58.70% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 20 100.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 29 93.10% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 47 87.20% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 2,135 41.50% 3.20%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Clarksdale as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Clarksdale is 5,085, with median earnings of $24,058.00.

Women in Clarksdale, Mississippi earning approximately 65.60% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 5,085 $24,058.00
Male 2,388 $31,797.00
Female 2,697 $20,861.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 452 $39,802.00
Business and Financial 98 $112,851.00
Computer and Mathematical 0 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 6 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 129 $0.00
Community and Social Service 102 $34,392.00
Legal 19 $150,179.00
Educational and Library 466 $33,924.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 59 $16,902.00
Healthcare Practitioners 429 $62,656.00
Healthcare Support 263 $16,528.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 63 $22,250.00
Law Enforcement 111 $26,692.00
Food Preparation and Serving 390 $15,440.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 328 $14,286.00
Personal Care and Service 167 $4,884.00
Sales 537 $20,737.00
Office and Administrative Support 388 $25,804.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 40 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 51 $17,614.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 193 $14,562.00
Production 367 $24,403.00
Transportation and Material Moving 207 $28,750.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 244 $76,552.00 208 $37,344.00
Business and Financial 85 $113,136.00 13 $0.00
Computer and Mathematical 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 6 $0.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 129 $0.00 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 38 $0.00 64 $34,662.00
Legal 10 $0.00 9 $0.00
Educational and Library 214 $41,607.00 252 $27,222.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 17 $0.00 42 $15,978.00
Healthcare Practitioners 55 $37,455.00 374 $66,250.00
Healthcare Support 24 $0.00 239 $18,750.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 63 $22,250.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 59 $27,458.00 52 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 69 $16,042.00 321 $14,757.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 142 $14,750.00 186 $13,553.00
Personal Care and Service 56 $16,912.00 111 $3,588.00
Sales 209 $47,019.00 328 $12,279.00
Office and Administrative Support 127 $20,893.00 261 $33,281.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 40 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 26 $25,417.00 25 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 193 $14,562.00 0 $0.00
Production 261 $26,005.00 106 $20,347.00
Transportation and Material Moving 169 $38,444.00 38 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 5,752 households in Clarksdale, with an average household size of 2.57 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 3,539 families in Clarksdale with an average family size of 3.36 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 1,359 457 1,723 2,213
Average Household Size 2.92 3.26 3.98 1.11
Total Families 1,359 457 1,723 0
Average Household Size 2.9 3.04 3.8 0

Poverty

Of the 3,539 families in Clarksdale, 32.00% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Clarksdale:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 7,054 housing units in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 5,752 81.54%
Vacant 1,302 18.46%

38.53% of the total 7,054 housing units in Clarksdale are rental units. This is approximately 2,718 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 2,869 are occupied by the owner - or 40.67% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Clarksdale is $648.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Clarksdale that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    165
  • Less than $500
    778
  • $500 to $999
    1,710
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    225
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    5
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Clarksdale is $73,800.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Clarksdale that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    861
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    1,022
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    511
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    195
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    182
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    52
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    26
  • $1,000,000 or more
    20

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Clarksdale. The chart below shows the number of properties in Clarksdale that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    506
  • 1940 to 1949
    828
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,399
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,068
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,623
  • 1980 to 1989
    580
  • 1990 to 1999
    677
  • 2000 to 2009
    289
  • 2010 to 2013
    84
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Clarksdale that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    736
  • 1 vehicle available
    2,317
  • 2 vehicles available
    1,797
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    902

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Clarksdale get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Clarksdale that commute to work in a particular way.

17.1 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Clarksdale.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    257
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,229
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,583
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    436
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    129
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    109
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    171
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    26
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    25
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    308
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    262
  • 90 or more minutes
    39

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Clarksdale, Mississippi in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.