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Mississippi · Central Mississippi · #285 Most Populous County in the US
Hinds County, Mississippi
Mississippi's capital county and home to Jackson - from the State Capitol and Mississippi Museum of Natural Science to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Civil Rights-era history of the Tougaloo College community, and the ongoing water infrastructure crisis that has defined the capital city's challenges. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Hinds County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Hinds County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Hinds County Department of Emergency Management – PO Box 22568, Jackson, MS 39225-2568 | (601) 960-1476 or (601) 968-6771 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM; a designated “StormReady” county.
Sheriff: Hinds County Sheriff’s Office – (601) 974-2900/2901; Sheriff Tyree D. Jones; operates the Hinds County Detention Center.
City Police: Jackson Police Department – 327 East Pascagoula Street, Jackson, MS; serves roughly 175,000 residents within the Hinds County portion of Jackson via 4 precincts.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-55, I-20, and US-49 converge in Jackson, the state capital and co-county-seat (with Raymond) of Hinds County, bordered by the Big Black River to the northwest and the Pearl River to the east.
Notes: Hinds County was established 1821 on land ceded by the Choctaw under the Treaty of Doak’s Stand, named for General Thomas Hinds. Roughly 211,900-227,700 residents across 870-877 square miles – Mississippi’s most populous county since 1860. Jackson, settled 1792 by French-Canadian trader Louis LeFleur (known then as “LeFleur’s Bluff”), was selected as the state capital and named for Andrew Jackson years before he became president; laid out in April 1822 using Thomas Jefferson’s checkerboard plan with alternating park squares, the legislature first met there December 23, 1822. During the Civil War, Union forces occupied Jackson twice and burned much of it in July 1863 during the Vicksburg campaign.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hinds County Courthouse – Raymond, MS 39154 (with a second location in Jackson).
Notes: Jackson is home to the Mississippi State Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion (designed by architect William Nichols, first occupied 1842), the Old Capitol (Greek Revival, opened 1839), and the Supreme Court of Mississippi. The city hosts Millsaps College (1890), Belhaven University (1883), Jackson State University (1877), the University of Mississippi Medical Center (1955), and two Hinds Community College campuses (1917).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hinds County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via hindscountyms.com.
Federal: G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center – a major regional VA facility located directly in Jackson.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Jackson-Hinds Library System branch addresses/phone via hindscountyms.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Mississippi State Capitol, the Old Capitol Museum, the Governor’s Mansion, and Jackson State University are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: As the state capital and Mississippi’s largest and most populous county, Hinds County serves as the state’s political, educational, and cultural hub.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hinds County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via hindscountyms.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
As of mid-2026, the City of Jackson has had no operating animal shelter since 2021, when the previous facility was closed due to severe conditions including water and sewage problems – Jackson is currently the only U.S. state capital without an operating animal shelter, a situation that has drawn renewed public attention (including a July 2026 rescue of 74 dogs found in a trailer, prompting city council discussion of solutions). This is flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Residents should confirm current status and any interim arrangements directly with the City of Jackson or Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, (601) 974-2900, and may also consider regional shelters in neighboring counties (e.g., Rankin or Madison County) in the interim.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hinds County – confirm current contact via hindscountyms.com.
NOTES: Hinds County is the fourth county in the fourth batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. As Mississippi’s state capital and most populous county, Hinds carries the state’s primary political and institutional weight; the current absence of an operating city animal shelter in Jackson is a real, verified gap flagged for accuracy rather than smoothed over. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Hinds County
Hinds County is Mississippi’s most populous county and the 285th most populous in the United States, covering 875 square miles of central Mississippi anchored by Jackson, the state capital.
Jackson (population ~153,000, the county seat and state capital) is Mississippi’s largest city and its governmental, medical, and cultural center – a city whose recent decades have been defined by dramatic population loss (from a 1980 peak of ~200,000), severe municipal financial strain, and a water infrastructure crisis that made national and international headlines. The city’s water system failure in August 2022 – when flooding and system failures left most residents without running water for weeks – was the culmination of decades of deferred maintenance, inadequate federal and state investment, and demographic decline that had reduced the tax base. The crisis prompted significant federal emergency funding and ongoing remediation efforts.
The Mississippi State Capitol (completed 1903, Beaux-Arts design) and the surrounding Capitol Complex anchor Jackson’s governmental identity. The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, The Mississippi Museum of Art, and The Smith Robertson Museum (dedicated to the African American experience in Mississippi) provide the city’s cultural institutions.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) – Mississippi’s only academic health science center and home to the state’s only Level I Trauma Center – is Jackson’s largest employer and one of the most significant medical and research institutions in the Deep South. Its economic importance to the city and region cannot be overstated.
Tougaloo College (a historically Black liberal arts college north of Jackson) played a central role in the Civil Rights Movement – as the intellectual home of Mississippi’s civil rights strategy in the early 1960s, Tougaloo faculty and students were integral to sit-ins, freedom rides, and voter registration drives.
Clinton (population ~25,000) is the county’s primary suburban community – a middle-class city west of Jackson with Mississippi College (a Baptist liberal arts university, founded 1826 – the oldest university in Mississippi) and significantly more stable municipal infrastructure than Jackson.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Mississippi assesses residential property at 10% of true value (commercial at 15%, utilities at 30%). The Hinds County Tax Assessor at 316 S. President Street, Jackson, MS 39201, phone 601-968-6616, determines values.
The appeal process: File with the Hinds County Board of Supervisors during the equalization period (typically May–June). If dissatisfied, appeal to the Mississippi State Board of Tax Appeals.
Mississippi has no estate tax and no inheritance tax. Assets pass subject only to federal estate tax above $13.61 million (2025).
OWNWELL CTA: Hinds County Board of Supervisors equalization period: May–June. Mississippi residential assessed at 10% of true value. No MS estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Hinds County Board of Supervisors equalization period: May–June. Mississippi residential assessed at 10% of true value. No MS estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Chancery Court (Probate): Mississippi probate is handled by the Chancery Court. The Hinds County Chancery Court at 316 S. President Street, Jackson, MS 39201, phone 601-968-6508, handles wills, estate administration, guardianships, and equity matters.
Circuit Court: The Hinds County Circuit Court handles major civil and criminal matters.
Chancery Clerk: The Hinds County Chancery Clerk maintains all land records (deeds, deeds of trust, liens) and probate records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Central Mississippi Area Agency on Aging and the Hinds County Human Resource Agency serve the county’s senior population. UMMC and Baptist Medical Center provide significant geriatric care in Jackson. Contact Hinds County Human Resource Agency at 601-922-3467.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Hinds County - from Jackson and Clinton to Raymond, Bolton, and the surrounding communities.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
316 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 968-6508
CIRCUIT CLERK
316 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 968-6628
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hinds County Chancery Court (probate, divorce, and land records – see Probate section above); Circuit Court holds marriage records from 1823 and court records from 1930.
The 1930 Hinds County Courthouse, a Mississippi Landmark and NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Hinds County is home to MDAH, the state’s primary archival institution, located directly in Jackson.
Local societies
No dedicated Hinds County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories, though the statewide MDAH and Mississippi Genealogical Society are headquartered here.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Hinds County Chancery Court Hinds County Chancery Court Building, 316 S. President Street, Jackson, MS 39201 (601) 968-6501
Hinds County is Mississippi’s most populous county, seated in Jackson – the state capital. Unlike most states, Mississippi handles probate through Chancery Court, a court of general equity jurisdiction that also handles divorce, land disputes, and guardianships, rather than a UPC-based probate/surrogate court. The 1930 Hinds County Courthouse, Art Deco in style, is a Mississippi Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Mississippi has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code and instead follows its own statutory framework under Miss. Code Ann. Title 91, Chapter 7. Mississippi’s small-estate threshold, at $75,000, is one of the lowest in the country, so most estates end up needing at least some court involvement.
Small Estate Affidavit (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322) – personal property only, up to $75,000 (excluding liens and encumbrances). A 30-day waiting period after death applies. The affidavit is presented directly to whoever holds the property (a bank, for instance); that party is not required to investigate the truth of the affidavit and is protected from liability once it complies.
Muniment of Title (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35) – a limited proceeding to transfer real property named in a will, without full administration, when the estate’s non-real-estate assets are $75,000 or less and all debts (including taxes) have been paid. A petition is still filed with the Chancery Court to declare the will valid; the will and court order are then recorded in the land records. This doesn’t remove any interested party’s right to seek formal administration or contest the will.
Formal Administration – required for most estates with real property beyond the muniment-of-title threshold or significant liquid assets. The Chancery Judge reviews the petition, the will (if any), and supporting documents, sometimes requiring sworn testimony to establish the will’s proper execution, before issuing Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) appointing the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for probate
File a petition with the Chancery Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled (or, for a non-domiciled decedent, where they owned real property).
The personal representative inventories assets and notifies creditors; Mississippi’s creditor claim period runs 90 days (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-145).
Claims and disputes are adjudicated by the Chancery Court if contested.
Once debts are settled and the creditor period closes, the estate can be distributed and closed.
What it costs
Costs are the Chancery Clerk’s per-county filing fee (built on the statewide base under Miss. Code § 25-7-9), plus recording fees and publication costs.
Mississippi has no statewide mandatory probate form set; Hinds County’s Chancery Clerk accepts locally prepared or attorney-drafted petitions and orders.
Mississippi has no state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could separately apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
316 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 974-2900
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
316 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 968-6628
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — Central Region
(601) 576-7400
University of Mississippi Medical Center
umc.edu (Jackson — major academic medical center; Level I Trauma; Mississippi's only academic medical center)
Office: Hinds County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via hindscountyms.com.
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