# Perry County, Mississippi: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Runnelstown No data center or power plant project is on record in Perry County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Unemployment was 3.7% in August 2026, against 6.9% in 2019. Perry County is home to Richton, Beaumont and New Augusta. Its power plants have 50 MW of capacity, 100% of it other technologies. Mississippi Power Co is the largest utility serving Perry County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.47¢/kWh in 2024, above the 12.78¢ median for Mississippi utilities. Employers here counted 2,220 jobs in 2025, up 0.3% from 2019. 50 MW of operating power plants, mostly other technologies 14.47¢ per kWh for Mississippi Power Co residential customers, 2024 +0.3% total jobs since 2019, now 2,220 ## Cities and towns in Perry County Perry County is home to Richton, Beaumont and New Augusta. Richton946 residents Beaumont680 residents New Augusta557 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Runnelstown. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Perry County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Mississippi | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 11,456 | 11,577 | ▲ 1.1% | 64th of 82 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,213 | 2,220 | ▲ 0.3% | 36th of 82 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $42,623 | $49,624 | ▲ 16.4% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.9% | 3.7% | ▼ 3.2pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | 11,577 people live here, up 1.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Perry County ### Utilities with service territory in Perry County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Mississippi Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 157,437 | 14.47¢ | 30% | | Singing River Elec Cooperative | Cooperative | Bundled | 72,343 | 13.46¢ | 24% | | Pearl River Valley El Pwr Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 52,077 | 14.25¢ | 18% | | Dixie Electric Power Assn - (MS) | Cooperative | Bundled | 37,803 | 13.44¢ | 24% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Other technologies | 50 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Leaf River Cellulose LLC | Leaf River Cellulose LLC | Other technologies | 50 MW | 1984 | ## The Perry County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 2,220 | $49,624 | 1.00 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Perry County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Perry County. Mississippi has 1 local measure on record statewide. ## Perry County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Perry County, Jones County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Perry County | 11,577 | ▲ 0.3% | 50 MW | — | — | — | | Forrest County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/forrest-county) | 79,034 | ▼ 3.9% | 50 MW | — | — | — | | George County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/george-county) | 26,331 | ▲ 8.8% | 28 MW | — | — | — | | Greene County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/greene-county) | 13,707 | ▲ 3.4% | — | — | — | — | | Jones County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/jones-county) | 66,496 | ▲ 2.9% | 510 MW | — | — | — | | Stone County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/stone-county) | 19,654 | ▲ 11.6% | — | — | — | — | | Wayne County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/wayne-county) | 19,807 | ▼ 2.1% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Mississippi [All Mississippi countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi)[Forrest County79,034 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/forrest-county)[Jones County66,496 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/jones-county)[George County26,331 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/george-county)[Wayne County19,807 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/wayne-county)[Stone County19,654 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/stone-county) ## Perry County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Perry County, Mississippi? 4 utilities have service territory in Perry County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Mississippi Power Co, Singing River Elec Cooperative, Pearl River Valley El Pwr Assn, Dixie Electric Power Assn - (MS). The largest, Mississippi Power Co, charged residential customers 14.47¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Perry County? 1 operating plant with 50 MW of capacity. The largest is Leaf River Cellulose LLC (50 MW, other technologies). ### Are there data centers in Perry County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Perry County. ### Is Perry County adding jobs? Employers counted 2,220 jobs in 2025 against 2,213 in 2019 (+0.3%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Perry County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Perry County. Mississippi has 1 local measure statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/perry-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).