Meridian is a medium-sized city located in the state of Mississippi. With a population of 33,549 people and 22 associated neighborhoods, Meridian is the eighth largest community in Mississippi.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Meridian is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Meridian is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Meridian who work in sales jobs (12.01%), office and administrative support (11.10%), and management occupations (8.56%). The population of Meridian overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Meridian, 21.81% have at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Meridian in 2022 was $25,094, which is middle income relative to Mississippi, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $100,376 for a family of four. However, Meridian contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Meridian also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 34.29% of its population below the federal poverty line.Meridian is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Meridian home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Meridian residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Meridian include English, Irish, German, African, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Meridian is English. Other important languages spoken here include Arabic and Spanish.
