With fewer than 1,500 Jews, of whom 550 live in Jackson, Mississippi has one of the smallest Jewish communities in the U.S. Jews were among the first settlers in the state who settled in Biloxi and Natchez in 1699. The first synagogue was started in Natchez in 1840. Today, there are Reform congregations in Jackson, Greenville, Hattiesburg, and Cleveland, and a Conservative congregation in Biloxi.