Located in the eastern south-central US, Mississippi ranks 32nd in size among the 50 states.
The total area of Mississippi is 47,689 sq mi (123,514 sq km), of which land takes up 47,233 sq mi (122,333 sq km) and inland water 456 sq mi (1,181 sq km). Mississippi's maximum E-W extension is 188 mi (303 km); its greatest N-S distance is 352 mi (566 km).
Mississippi is bordered on the N by Tennessee; on the E by Alabama; on the S by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana; and on the W by Louisiana (with the line partially formed by the Pearl and Mississippi rivers) and Arkansas (with the line formed by the Mississippi River). Several small islands lie off the coast.
The total boundary length of Mississippi is 1,015 mi (1,634 km). The state's geographic center is in Leake County, 9 mi (14 km) WNW of Carthage.