On August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Moss Point was flooded or destroyed (see details below).
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,653 people, 6,714 households, and 5,228 families residing in the city. The population density was 634.0 people per square mile (344.8/km²). There were 6,237 housing units at an average density of 249.4/sq mi (96.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 28.04% White, 70.56% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population.
There were 5,714 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 23.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 22.8% 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 2.75 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,075, and the median income for a family was $37,712. Males had a median income of $31,126 versus $20,550 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,537. About 15.8% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.