Mississippi Economy

Agriculture and Industry Services and Products

Mississippi has long been one of the most rural states in the US. In the year 2000, Mississippi ranked third in the nation in the production of cotton. Other important crops are rice and soybeans. In addition, industry related to the production of chickens, catfish, and dairying are becoming more important to the state economy.

Industry has grown more rapidly with the development of oil resources, and in recent years, industrial products such as chemicals, plastics and wood products have become more profitable to the state than agriculture.

Mississippi Agriculture and Industry

Mississippi Agriculture:

Cotton, poultry, cattle, catfish, soybeans, dairy products, rice.

Mississippi Industry:

Apparel, furniture, lumber and wood products, food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Mississippi's total state product in 2003 was $72 billion. Per capital personal income in 2003 was $23,466, 51st in the nation (ranking includes the District of Columbia).

Mississippi's rank as the poorest state can be traced to the Civil War. Before the Civil War, Mississippi was the fifth-wealthiest state in the nation. The war cost the state 30,000 men. Plantation owners who survived the war were virtually bankrupted by the emancipation of slaves, and Union troops left widespread destruction in their wake.