As of the census of 2010, there were 17,786 people, 6,165 households, and 4,539 families residing in the county. The population density was 39.9 people per square mile. There were 7,161 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 78.6% White, 19.1% Black or African American, with 2.3% being of other racial categories. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 31.5% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couplesliving together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male household with no wife present, and 26.4% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13. 24.4% were under the age of 18, 29.4% were under the age of 20, 32.3% from 20 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.9 years. 50.1% of the population was male, and 49.9% was female. The median income for a household in the county was $42,862, and the median family income was $48,083. Males had a median income of $42,773 versus $31,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,806. About 14.1% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
On April 25, during the 2012 regular session of the Mississippi Legislature, Concurrent Resolution 643 was adopted by the state Senate and state House of Representatives, stating that Stone County be named and declared the Mural County of Mississippi. During the previous 8 years, a Telling Trees Project was developed in Stone County to document and celebrate Stone County's history and heritage. As part of that project, 23 murals, in the form of paintings and mosaic tiles, were created in cooperation with the Art Department, Perkinston campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and are on public display throughout the county. The murals tell visual stories of Stone County's ecosystems, people, landmarks, and industries.
