Tongan Population in Jackson County, MS by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights
Although Jackson County, MS reports a total of 52 Tongan residents, none of its four incorporated cities included in this analysis* - Gautier, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, or Pascagoula - show any population for this group. This indicates the entire Tongan population resides outside municipal boundaries, likely dispersed throughout rural or unincorporated communities. The analysis below explores how this rural-skewed distribution compares with similar patterns across Mississippi.
Read more
Top 5 cities with the largest Tongan population in Jackson County
-
1GautierTongan population in Gautier is 0- of Gautier population is Tongan
-
2Moss PointTongan population in Moss Point is 0- of Moss Point population is Tongan
-
3Ocean SpringsTongan population in Ocean Springs is 0- of Ocean Springs population is Tongan
-
4PascagoulaTongan population in Pascagoula is 0- of Pascagoula population is Tongan
Overview of Tongan population in Jackson County
- Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Jackson County with 52 Tongan residents (0.036% of 144,437 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 96th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within Mississippi for Tongan population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
- Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Jackson County's Tongan population of 0.036% surpassing both Mississippi's state average of less than 0.01% and the national average of 0.023%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
- Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Jackson County hosts 52 Tongan residents, constituting 100% of Mississippi's total Tongan population of 52, creating a demographic concentration where more than half of the state's Tongan community resides within a single county—a geographic clustering pattern rarely documented in American demographic research.
- Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Jackson County contains $dem_per_sqmi Tongan Americans per square mile—more than sixty-four times Mississippi's average of less than 0.01 per square mile—placing the county as a demographic outlier with one of the most concentrated Tongan communities documented in United States demographic research.
- Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔
Jackson County Cities Ranked by Tongan Population
American Community Survey [1] findings document zero Tongan population in Gautier, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, and Pascagoula — the only four incorporated cities in Jackson County included in this analysis*. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on the current ACS data.
Methodology
This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Jackson County, MS by their Tongan population, using the most recent ACS data available.
How the Census defines Tongan population
The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Tongan ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
- Some people identify as Tongan alone, while others identify as Tongan along with another race (such as Tongan and German).
- We’ve used the “Tongan alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Tongan population in each area.
How We Ranked the Data
This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Tongan alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
- % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Tongan .
- % of Total Jackson County Tongan Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Tongan population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.
Things to Keep in Mind
Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
- In places with very small Tongan populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
- Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
- City that don’t have any reported Tongan population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Tongan populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles 2023.
