Tupelo Journal. April 28, 2021. Editorial: State must address shrinking population The first round of 2020 Census data can be read as nothing but bad news for Mississippi. We were one of only three states to lose population, a fact only compounded by the strong population growth from the rest of the South. Mississippi saw a loss of .2% – just more than 6,000 residents – which seems almost negligible on face value. But when you look at the rest of the country, it reveals an alarming reality. The South region of the United States led the nation in population growth with an increase of 10.2% from 2010. The closest comparison to Mississippi – from population, demographic and economic standpoints – would be Arkansas. It saw a population increase of 3.3%, surpassing Mississippi’s population for the first time in more than 100 years.