The city is named for Gerard Brandon, Governor of Mississippi during the early 1800s.

In 1900, Brandon had a school, a telephone and telegraph office, a saw mill, two livery stables, two cotton gins, two hotels, six churches, and fifteen or twenty stores.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,138 people, 8,780 households, and 6,593 families residing in the city.

23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[9] The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, located in unincorporated Rankin County,[10] is in proximity to Brandon.

Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including:[12] The City of Brandon has a city mayor as the chief executive officer and a board of aldermen, with six elected from single-member districts and one elected at-large.

The City of Brandon is served by the Rankin County School District.

[14][15] The town was mentioned in the 1986 film Platoon by Chris Taylor, a character played by Charlie Sheen.