Mississippi Suburb Counties

[Del Tachi]

Good post above, but I'll have to point out a few areas where I think there's some additional nuance

1.  Madison County is undergoing significant "Black suburbanization" - a lot of neighborhoods in Ridgeland centered around Northpark Mall (immediately adjacent to the City of Jackson, from the Natchez Trace south to the county line, east of Hwy 51) are majority Black at this point.   This increasing diversity is what's powering Madison County's new competitiveness. 

The truly elite areas of Metro Jackson remain in NE Jackson (and mostly south of Hanging Moss Creek, not directly adjacent to Madison County).  Considering the expected low level of educational attainment for Mississippi Blacks its probably the case that Hinds County Whites are more educated than Madison County Whites (the county-wide estimates for college-attainment are 47.7% vs 29.1%, but Hinds is over 70% Black - this guess is somewhat tempered by the fact that Hinds County Blacks are probably the most educated Blacks in Mississippi, however).  The truly elite neighborhoods of Jackson (Eastover, Belhaven) are immediately adjacent (over a bridge) to Flowood, in Rankin County.

2.  The geographic determinism involved doesn't have so much to do with the adjacency of elite Jackson areas with Madison County (because they aren't) but the limited number of Pearl River crossings between Hinds and Rankin County.  Initial suburban growth from Jackson "fanned" out into Madison County easier because it wasn't choked by having to cross the Pearl River, which makes Madison County denser and (increasingly) more Black than Rankin County.  "Crossing the River" will remain an important symbolic gesture in Metro Jackson for generations to come (there are only two road crossings between Hinds and Rankin County).

Since you brought up DeSoto, I'll also note that you can see the influence of rivers very starkly in Greater Memphis.  Crittenden County, Arkansas (i.e., West Memphis) has never developed the same suburban character as DeSoto because you had to cross the Mississippi River.  DeSoto and Madison (not DeSoto and Rankin) are the analogues, and I would place them on similar trajectories. 

[Del Tachi]

1.  Madison County is undergoing significant "Black suburbanization" - a lot of neighborhoods in Ridgeland centered around Northpark Mall (immediately adjacent to the City of Jackson, from the Natchez Trace south to the county line, east of Hwy 51) are majority Black at this point.   This increasing diversity is what's powering Madison County's new competitiveness. 

 

In addition to this, there's also a small yet notable and growing Hispanic population in Ridgeland largely residing in those same apartments.

If you had to guess, what is the next time Madison County actually votes D on presidential level?

Possibly in the next 2008-type environment, where MS would be within 10 pts