Tunica County, Mississippi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tunica County
U.S. county
Tunica County Courthouse in Tunica
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1836
Named for	Tunica-Biloxi tribe
Seat	Tunica
Largest town	Tunica Resorts
Area
• Total	481 sq mi (1,250 km2)
• Land	455 sq mi (1,180 km2)
• Water	26 sq mi (70 km2)  5.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,782
• Density	20.337/sq mi (7.852/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Tunica County is a special area called a county in the state of Mississippi. In 2020, about 9,782 people lived there. The main town, or county seat, is Tunica. The county got its name from the Tunica Native Americans. Most of these Native Americans moved to Louisiana a long time ago.

Tunica County is part of the larger Memphis area, which includes parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. It is also found in the Mississippi Delta region.

Since the late 1900s, Tunica County has become famous for Tunica Resorts. This area has many large casino resorts. It is one of the top places in the United States for gambling fun.

Geography of Tunica County

Tunica County covers a total area of about 481 square miles. Most of this (455 square miles) is land. The rest (26 square miles) is water, like rivers and lakes. Water makes up about 5.4% of the county's total area.

Main Roads in Tunica County

You can get around Tunica County using these important roads:

• Interstate 69
• U.S. Route 61
• Mississippi Highway 3
• Mississippi Highway 4

Neighboring Counties

Tunica County shares its borders with several other counties:

People of Tunica County

In 2020, there were 9,782 people living in Tunica County. There were 3,930 households and 2,347 families.

Population Makeup in 2020

Most people in Tunica County are Black or African American, making up about 76.35% of the population. About 19.34% are White. Other groups include Native American, Asian, and people of mixed races. About 1.99% of the people are Hispanic or Latino.

Population Makeup in 2010

In 2010, there were 10,778 people in the county. About 73.5% were Black or African American and 23.7% were White. Smaller groups included Asian, Native American, and Pacific Islander people. About 2.3% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Economy of Tunica County

Tunica County has worked to bring new businesses to the area. One example was GreenTech Automotive, a company that planned to build cars there. The state of Mississippi and Tunica County gave GreenTech $6 million to help them build a factory.

GreenTech Automotive had promised to invest $60 million and create 350 full-time jobs. However, the factory closed in 2017. It did not produce many cars and did not create as many jobs as promised. In the end, GreenTech paid back some money to Mississippi and Tunica County in 2020.

Education in Tunica County

Students in Tunica County can attend public or private schools.

Public Schools

• The Tunica County School District is in charge of all public schools in the county.

Private Schools

• Tunica Academy is a private school located near the town of Tunica.

Notable People from Tunica County

Many interesting people have come from Tunica County:

• Brandon Bryant – an American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL).
• James Cotton – a famous blues harmonica player.
• Parker Hall – an NFL player who was named the Most Valuable Player in 1939.
• Charlaine Harris – a very popular author who writes bestselling books.
• Donald Hawkins – an NFL tackle.
• Benardrick McKinney – an NFL linebacker who plays for the New York Giants.

Communities in Tunica County

Tunica County has one main town and several other communities.

Town

• Tunica (This is the county seat, the main town where the county government is located.)

Census-Designated Places

These are areas that are like towns but are not officially incorporated as cities.

• Austin
• Dundee
• North Tunica
• Tunica Resorts (This place used to be called Robinsonville.)
• White Oak

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially part of a town or city.

Ghost Towns

These are places where towns used to be, but now very few or no people live there.

• Commerce
• Harbert Landing
• Penton
• Pink
• Trotter Landing

Images for kids

• 

  A sign welcoming visitors to Tunica County, Mississippi.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Tunica para niños