 Greg Snowden ( R ) . The western section of the city , along with a small section in the north , lie in House District 84 and are represented by Tad Campbell ( R ) .   On the national level , the city is located in Mississippi 's 3rd congressional district , represented by Gregg Harper ( R ) , who has been in office since 2009 . Lauderdale County , home to Meridian , has voted for the Republican candidate in every United States presidential election since 1972 . Prior to the shift to the Republican Party , white area voters supported Democratic Party candidates , as for decades since the late nineteenth century , it was a one @-@ party state .   = = Demographics = =   The city 's growth has reflected the push and pull of many social and economic factors . The total population increased in each census from the city 's founding until 1970 , although varying from rates as high as 165 % to as low as 0 @.@ 2 % . In the 1970 census the population decreased , then slightly increased by 1980 , after which the population slowly declined , increasing again since the turn of the 21st century . Between 1980 and 2000 , the population declined more than 14 % . As of the census of 2000 , the city 's population was 39 @,@ 968 , and the population density was 885 @.@ 9 inhabitants per square mile ( 342 @.@ 0 / km2 ) . In 2008 , the city was the sixth largest in the state . The population increased as of 2010 .   Meridian is the principal city in the Meridian micropolitan area , which as of 2009 consisted of three counties – Clarke , Kemper , and Lauderdale – and had a population of 106 @,@ 139 . There is a population of 232 @,@ 900 in a 45 @-@ mile ( 72 km ) radius and 526 @,@ 500 in a 65 @-@ mile ( 105 km ) radius .   While the overall population growth of the city has varied , there has been a steady growth in the number and percentage of non @-@ white residents . The only decline in this group was between 1960 and 1970 , when the city 's overall population declined markedly . In the 2010 Census , the racial makeup of the city was 61 @.@ 55 % African American , 35 @.@ 71 % White , 0 @.@ 9 % Asian , 0 @.@ 2 % Native American , < 0 @.@ 02 % Pacific Islander , 0 @.@ 59 % from other races , and 0 @.@ 89 % from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1 @.@ 75 % of the population .   According to the 2000 Census , of the 17 @,@ 890 housing units inside city limits , 15 @,@ 966 were occupied , 10 @,@ 033 of them by families . 31 @.@ 1 % of occupied households had children under the age of 18 , 36 @.@ 2 % were married couples living together , 23 @.@ 3 % consisted of a female householder with no husband present , and 37 @.@ 2 % were non @-@ families . 33 @.@ 2 % of all households were made up of individuals , and 14 @.@ 0 % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size was 2 @.@ 39 and the average family size was 3 @.@ 06 . The average household size has steadily decreased since 1970 , when it was 3 @.@ 04 . Meridian 's median age has increased from 30 @.@ 4 in 1970 to 34 @.@ 6 in 2000 .   The median income for a household in the city was $ 25 @,@ 085 , and the median income for a family was $ 31 @,@ 062 . Males had a median income of $ 29 @,@ 404 versus $ 19 @,@ 702 for females . The per capita income for the city was $ 15 @,@ 255 . About 24 @.@ 6 % of families and 28 @.@ 6 % of the population were below the poverty line , including 40 @.@ 8 % of those under age 18 and 22 @.@ 0 % of those age 65 or over .   = = = Religion = = =   The population of Meridian and its surrounds is fairly observant , with 65 @.@ 2 % of Lauderdale County identifying as affiliated with some type of religious congregation , compared with the national average of 50 @.@ 2 % . Of the affiliated in 2000 , 30 @,@ 068 ( 59 @.@ 0 % ) were in the Southern Baptist Convention , 9 @,@ 469 ( 18 @.@ 6 % ) were with the United Methodist Church , and 1 @,@ 872 ( 3 @.@ 7 % ) were associated with the Catholic Church .   Immigrant Jews from Germany and eastern Europe were influential in commercial development of the city , building businesses and services . Congregation Beth Israel was founded in
ĠGreg ĠSnowden Ġ( ĠR Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġwestern Ġsection Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith Ġa Ġsmall Ġsection Ġin Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ, Ġlie Ġin ĠHouse ĠDistrict Ġ84 Ġand Ġare Ġrepresented Ġby ĠTad ĠCampbell Ġ( ĠR Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġthe Ġnational Ġlevel Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġis Ġlocated Ġin ĠMississippi Ġ' s Ġ3 rd Ġcongressional Ġdistrict Ġ, Ġrepresented Ġby ĠGregg ĠHarper Ġ( ĠR Ġ) Ġ, Ġwho Ġhas Ġbeen Ġin Ġoffice Ġsince Ġ2009 Ġ. ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġ, Ġhome Ġto ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġhas Ġvoted Ġfor Ġthe ĠRepublican Ġcandidate Ġin Ġevery ĠUnited ĠStates Ġpresidential Ġelection Ġsince Ġ1972 Ġ. ĠPrior Ġto Ġthe Ġshift Ġto Ġthe ĠRepublican ĠParty Ġ, Ġwhite Ġarea Ġvoters Ġsupported ĠDemocratic ĠParty Ġcandidates Ġ, Ġas Ġfor Ġdecades Ġsince Ġthe Ġlate Ġnineteenth Ġcentury Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġa Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġparty Ġstate Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠDem ographics Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġgrowth Ġhas Ġreflected Ġthe Ġpush Ġand Ġpull Ġof Ġmany Ġsocial Ġand Ġeconomic Ġfactors Ġ. ĠThe Ġtotal Ġpopulation Ġincreased Ġin Ġeach Ġcensus Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġfounding Ġuntil Ġ1970 Ġ, Ġalthough Ġvarying Ġfrom Ġrates Ġas Ġhigh Ġas Ġ165 Ġ% Ġto Ġas Ġlow Ġas Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġ1970 Ġcensus Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġdecreased Ġ, Ġthen Ġslightly Ġincreased Ġby Ġ1980 Ġ, Ġafter Ġwhich Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġslowly Ġdeclined Ġ, Ġincreasing Ġagain Ġsince Ġthe Ġturn Ġof Ġthe Ġ21 st Ġcentury Ġ. ĠBetween Ġ1980 Ġand Ġ2000 Ġ, Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġdeclined Ġmore Ġthan Ġ14 Ġ% Ġ. ĠAs Ġof Ġthe Ġcensus Ġof Ġ2000 Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġpopulation Ġwas Ġ39 Ġ@ , @ Ġ9 68 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġdensity Ġwas Ġ8 85 Ġ@ . @ Ġ9 Ġinhabitants Ġper Ġsquare Ġmile Ġ( Ġ342 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġ/ Ġkm 2 Ġ) Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2008 Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġwas Ġthe Ġsixth Ġlargest Ġin Ġthe Ġstate Ġ. ĠThe Ġpopulation Ġincreased Ġas Ġof Ġ2010 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġis Ġthe Ġprincipal Ġcity Ġin Ġthe ĠMeridian Ġmic ropolitan Ġarea Ġ, Ġwhich Ġas Ġof Ġ2009 Ġconsisted Ġof Ġthree Ġcounties ĠâĢĵ ĠClarke Ġ, ĠKem per Ġ, Ġand ĠLauderdale ĠâĢĵ Ġand Ġhad Ġa Ġpopulation Ġof Ġ106 Ġ@ , @ Ġ139 Ġ. ĠThere Ġis Ġa Ġpopulation Ġof Ġ232 Ġ@ , @ Ġ900 Ġin Ġa Ġ45 Ġ@ - @ Ġmile Ġ( Ġ72 Ġkm Ġ) Ġradius Ġand Ġ5 26 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġin Ġa Ġ65 Ġ@ - @ Ġmile Ġ( Ġ105 Ġkm Ġ) Ġradius Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWhile Ġthe Ġoverall Ġpopulation Ġgrowth Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġhas Ġvaried Ġ, Ġthere Ġhas Ġbeen Ġa Ġsteady Ġgrowth Ġin Ġthe Ġnumber Ġand Ġpercentage Ġof Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġwhite Ġresidents Ġ. ĠThe Ġonly Ġdecline Ġin Ġthis Ġgroup Ġwas Ġbetween Ġ1960 Ġand Ġ1970 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġoverall Ġpopulation Ġdeclined Ġmarkedly Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġ2010 ĠCensus Ġ, Ġthe Ġracial Ġmakeup Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġwas Ġ61 Ġ@ . @ Ġ55 Ġ% ĠAfrican ĠAmerican Ġ, Ġ35 Ġ@ . @ Ġ71 Ġ% ĠWhite Ġ, Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ9 Ġ% ĠAsian Ġ, Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% ĠNative ĠAmerican Ġ, Ġ< Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ02 Ġ% ĠPacific ĠIsland er Ġ, Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ59 Ġ% Ġfrom Ġother Ġraces Ġ, Ġand Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ89 Ġ% Ġfrom Ġtwo Ġor Ġmore Ġraces Ġ. ĠHispanic Ġor ĠLatino Ġof Ġany Ġrace Ġwere Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ75 Ġ% Ġof Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto Ġthe Ġ2000 ĠCensus Ġ, Ġof Ġthe Ġ17 Ġ@ , @ Ġ8 90 Ġhousing Ġunits Ġinside Ġcity Ġlimits Ġ, Ġ15 Ġ@ , @ Ġ9 66 Ġwere Ġoccupied Ġ, Ġ10 Ġ@ , @ Ġ0 33 Ġof Ġthem Ġby Ġfamilies Ġ. Ġ31 Ġ@ . @ Ġ1 Ġ% Ġof Ġoccupied Ġhouseholds Ġhad Ġchildren Ġunder Ġthe Ġage Ġof Ġ18 Ġ, Ġ36 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% Ġwere Ġmarried Ġcouples Ġliving Ġtogether Ġ, Ġ23 Ġ@ . @ Ġ3 Ġ% Ġconsisted Ġof Ġa Ġfemale Ġhousehold er Ġwith Ġno Ġhusband Ġpresent Ġ, Ġand Ġ37 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% Ġwere Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġfamilies Ġ. Ġ33 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% Ġof Ġall Ġhouseholds Ġwere Ġmade Ġup Ġof Ġindividuals Ġ, Ġand Ġ14 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġ% Ġhad Ġsomeone Ġliving Ġalone Ġwho Ġwas Ġ65 Ġyears Ġof Ġage Ġor Ġolder Ġ. ĠThe Ġaverage Ġhousehold Ġsize Ġwas Ġ2 Ġ@ . @ Ġ39 Ġand Ġthe Ġaverage Ġfamily Ġsize Ġwas Ġ3 Ġ@ . @ Ġ06 Ġ. ĠThe Ġaverage Ġhousehold Ġsize Ġhas Ġsteadily Ġdecreased Ġsince Ġ1970 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġit Ġwas Ġ3 Ġ@ . @ Ġ04 Ġ. ĠMeridian Ġ' s Ġmedian Ġage Ġhas Ġincreased Ġfrom Ġ30 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġin Ġ1970 Ġto Ġ34 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġin Ġ2000 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmedian Ġincome Ġfor Ġa Ġhousehold Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġwas Ġ$ Ġ25 Ġ@ , @ Ġ0 85 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġmedian Ġincome Ġfor Ġa Ġfamily Ġwas Ġ$ Ġ31 Ġ@ , @ Ġ0 62 Ġ. ĠMales Ġhad Ġa Ġmedian Ġincome Ġof Ġ$ Ġ29 Ġ@ , @ Ġ404 Ġversus Ġ$ Ġ19 Ġ@ , @ Ġ702 Ġfor Ġfemales Ġ. ĠThe Ġper Ġcapita Ġincome Ġfor Ġthe Ġcity Ġwas Ġ$ Ġ15 Ġ@ , @ Ġ255 Ġ. ĠAbout Ġ24 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġ% Ġof Ġfamilies Ġand Ġ28 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġ% Ġof Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġwere Ġbelow Ġthe Ġpoverty Ġline Ġ, Ġincluding Ġ40 Ġ@ . @ Ġ8 Ġ% Ġof Ġthose Ġunder Ġage Ġ18 Ġand Ġ22 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġ% Ġof Ġthose Ġage Ġ65 Ġor Ġover Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠReligion Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġpopulation Ġof ĠMeridian Ġand Ġits Ġsurrounds Ġis Ġfairly Ġobserv ant Ġ, Ġwith Ġ65 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% Ġof ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġidentifying Ġas Ġaffiliated Ġwith Ġsome Ġtype Ġof Ġreligious Ġcongregation Ġ, Ġcompared Ġwith Ġthe Ġnational Ġaverage Ġof Ġ50 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġ% Ġ. ĠOf Ġthe Ġaffiliated Ġin Ġ2000 Ġ, Ġ30 Ġ@ , @ Ġ0 68 Ġ( Ġ59 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġ% Ġ) Ġwere Ġin Ġthe ĠSouthern ĠBaptist ĠConvention Ġ, Ġ9 Ġ@ , @ Ġ4 69 Ġ( Ġ18 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġ% Ġ) Ġwere Ġwith Ġthe ĠUnited ĠMethodist ĠChurch Ġ, Ġand Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ8 72 Ġ( Ġ3 Ġ@ . @ Ġ7 Ġ% Ġ) Ġwere Ġassociated Ġwith Ġthe ĠCatholic ĠChurch Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠImm igrant ĠJews Ġfrom ĠGermany Ġand Ġeastern ĠEurope Ġwere Ġinfluential Ġin Ġcommercial Ġdevelopment Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġbuilding Ġbusinesses Ġand Ġservices Ġ. ĠCong regation ĠBeth ĠIsrael Ġwas Ġfounded Ġin