Gulfport, Mississippi, is the chief port in the state, with access to the Gulf of Mexico through a ship channel.

A single pond in the county contains the critically endangered dusky gopher frog.

[5] As of the 2020 United States census, 208,621 people, 74,628 households, and 50,074 families were residing in the county.

Inmate Jessie Lee Williams Jr. died while in custody on February 4, 2006.

[12] In 2006 and 2007, six Harrison County Sheriff's Department deputies pleaded guilty to crimes related to the abuse of inmates at the jail.